Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 11/16/2022
SPRINGFIELD – The holiday cheer of Bright Nights and other signature events will be featured throughout Spirit of Springfield’s winter season.
So far, Spirit of Springfield continues to enjoy a prosperous year after 2021 featured a variance in some events’ attendance due to the coronavirus pandemic. Spirit of Springfield President Judy Matt shared the summer gatherings, like the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast and the Independence Day celebration Star Spangled Springfield, featured active community participation.
“The year before, we were just coming out of the coronavirus pandemic … [this year] it was very robust, much bigger than the year before,” said Matt.
Spirit of Springfield kicked off the holidays with its annual City of Bright Nights Ball on Nov. 12. Decorated with luxurious décor and hosting a who’s who of notable politicians and business leaders, the event represents Spirit’s core fundraiser for the year. Matt shared that the charitable gathering sold out tickets over a month before the celebration took place.
“It’s been sold out for almost a month. It’s remarkable because it’s a high-ticket item,” said Matt.
This year’s Bright Nights Ball theme was “Endless Love.” To get participants in the spirit of the adoring theme, Spirit of Springfield sent lyrics of the Beatle’s track “All You Need is Love” for participants to provide a compilation of vignettes.
A member of the Spirit of Springfield board also wrote a love letter to the community that was featured in a poetry book distributed to attendees.
Spirit of Springfield’s marquee event, Bright Nights at Forest Park, celebrates its return on Nov. 23.
This year’s Bright Nights will run nightly until Jan. 1, with the festive light show only closing during Nov. 28 and 29.
Matt said Spirit of Springfield continues to enhance Bright Nights luminous lights. This year, Spirit of Springfield constructed a significant light structure to add to its gift shop area that will feature over 5,000 lightbulbs. Matt envisions Spirit of Springfield adding more light fixtures next year as they complete a festive remodeling of the gift shop area.
“It’s going to be the making of a very lovely village … It’s going to be very magical,” said Matt.
This year’s Bright Nights will also feature the return of the Bright Nights 5K Road Race on Nov. 28 and Supper with Santa. Both events continue to see active presales from community members.
“They are selling out like crazy,” said Matt.
The Spirit of Springfield will also be hosting a holiday concert on Dec 11. The annual concert will take place at 2 p.m. at Springfield Symphony Hall. It will feature sounds of the holiday and patriotism by the 215th Army Band of the Massachusetts Army National Guard. Admission is free, with attendees encouraged to pick up tickets from the Springfield Visitors Center or reach out directly to Spirit of Springfield beforehand.
One Spirit of Springfield event that won’t be returning this year is the Parade of Big Balloons, which will not run for the third consecutive year due to ongoing helium shortages. Spirit of Springfield considered other options, like the inflating balloons with cold air, but Matt said the hosting the event became unfeasible due to exasperated demand for helium.
“We tried what we could to make that happen and it was just not economically feasible or realistic to get the helium … all of the costs have tripled,” said Matt.
In the future, Matt said Spirit of Springfield is considering a light parade and other options if helium continues to be unattainable.
For all their events, Matt stressed the importance of making participation inclusive for all to celebrate. With Bright Nights, Spirit of Springfield will be offering two Ten Dollar Tuesdays during the first two Tuesdays and public safety night on Nov. 30, along with a rollback price night that charges customers the same price as the first Bright Nights on Nov. 23 and Dec. 6. The organization also donates a plethora of free tickets to community groups, according to Matt.
“It’s important to us that people who want to go can go … We try to keep everything what they were so people can afford it, it’s about making things accessible,” said Matt.
Readers can learn more about Spirit of Springfield at https://www.spiritofspringfield.org/.