{"id":86115,"date":"2026-01-01T00:56:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-01T00:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/86115\/"},"modified":"2026-01-01T00:56:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-01T00:56:09","slug":"queen-city-preps-to-put-on-vermonts-biggest-new-years-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/86115\/","title":{"rendered":"Queen City preps to put on Vermont\u2019s biggest New Year\u2019s party"},"content":{"rendered":"

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont\u2019s largest city is preparing to host the state\u2019s biggest New Year\u2019s Eve party. As Darren Perron reports in this week\u2019s \u201cVermont\u2019s Own<\/a>,\u201d Highlight 2025 aims to showcase the best of what the Green Mountains have to offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know we are supporting more than 117 artists. Then we have another 70 people working behind the scenes,\u201d said Zach Williamson with Burlington City Arts, the organization behind Highlight 2025<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The planning begins in the summer. But in the days just before New Year\u2019s Eve is when it\u2019s all hands on deck. Workers put the finishing touches on the venues, and bands get in some sound checks before the big crowds arrive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are on track to have 4,000 to 5,000 people show up for Highlight,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n

Indoor performances like Circus Smirkus at Contois Auditorium are big attractions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe love it. It\u2019s a wonderful tradition for our troupers,\u201d said the circus\u2019 Josh Shack. \u201cWe get really enthusiastic audiences here. People come year after year. They love the circus magic here in the auditorium.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a one-of-a-kind show starring kids from all over the country. \u201cSo, this is like a big reunion. And it\u2019s also a reunion for us with the people of Vermont. It\u2019s our home state, and we feel bonded with the state and people who live here,\u201d said trouper Lev Eisner.<\/p>\n

Dozens of performances dot the city on New Year\u2019s Eve. And the annual event is truly Vermont\u2019s own.<\/p>\n

\u201cHighlight has always been about Vermont. We only book artists who live here, grew up here, or have some connection here. Maybe they studied here and moved on, but everyone performing has a connection to the state of Vermont,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n

Two of the biggest draws take place at the Burlington waterfront. Crews rolled in a sculpture of the state\u2019s favorite lake monster, Champ.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis year we decided to do a heart shape because of all of what\u2019s going on in the nation right now,\u201d said Chris Cleary of Cirque de Fuego, which is coordinating the Champ spectacle. The wooden structure becomes the hottest attraction when it\u2019s set ablaze in a fiery offering to honor the legendary mascot. \u201cThis will be the fifth year of burning Champ on the lake… When you see all the kids in the front row smiling and everyone smiling, it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not far from the Coast Guard, pyrotechnicians carefully placed the fireworks that will also help revelers ring in the New Year.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re gonna feel a sense of excitement, a sense of community, you\u2019re gonna be proud of where you live, and you\u2019ll experience it through the arts, which is fantastic,\u201d Williamson said.<\/p>\n

On next Wednesday\u2019s installment of \u201cVermont\u2019s Own,\u201d we\u2019ll visit Brookfield. If you have an idea for your town, don\u2019t be shy, send us a note about the places, people, and events that embody the place you call home.<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2025 WCAX. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Vermont\u2019s largest city is preparing to host the state\u2019s biggest New Year\u2019s Eve party.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":86116,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[6352,41806,41117,9,24,63,122,124,123,1634,41805,1631],"class_list":["post-86115","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-burlington","tag-highlight-2025","tag-new-years","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news","tag-vermont","tag-vermonts-own","tag-wcax"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86115","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86115"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86115\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86115"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86115"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86115"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}