Chatham and Provincetown to host New Year's parties outdoors or with safety rules

This story has been updated to reflect changes in Provincetown COVID-19 protocols, and a time change for Provincetown fireworks.

New Year’s Eve traditions of fun and fireworks will go on in two Cape Cod towns this year, offering days of activities and attractions to end a year full of COVID-19 uncertainties on a festive and hopeful note.

In Chatham, revelers can enjoy the First Night family-oriented event that will offer an all-outdoors schedule, including a fireworks display at Veterans Field. First Light activities in Provincetown invite participants to a long weekend of activities, with early-evening fireworks Jan. 1 and plenty of outdoor events offering a safe gathering space for revelers.

While Sandwich has traditionally offered New Year’s Eve activities, organizers recently announced that because many musical and dance performances are held indoors, that annual celebration will be postponed for a year due to COVID-19 concerns.

For communitywide celebrations you can attend, here are some details:

First Night Chatham

Organizers this year have worked to accommodate the twists and turns of COVID-19 in creating the annual event. Publicity director John Reed ticked off some changes to planned activities, indicated foremost by the event’s official name: First Night Chatham: Special Main Street Edition.

The Dec. 31 celebration has been “refocused on Main Street venues and activities,” according to Reed. Families, he says, can participate in a host of safe outdoor activities all taking place during daytime hours in the main business district. The plan does away with the necessity for shuttle buses and there will be none of the usual indoor musical performances this year.

The traditional town photo will kick off the day’s events at noon Friday on the grounds at Chatham Lighthouse, and the celebration that follows will be a mix of familiar themes and new attractions.

It looks to be a good year for outsized entertainment. Three tall Cape Cod “Giants,” the work of Sandwich glass artist and sculptor Michael Magyar, will be illuminated outside the community center, adding to the Cape’s total of more than 60 lighted Giant sculptures by the artist.

Carrying on with the oversized theme, wannabe architects and artists of all ages will be able to dig into a heap of giant LEGO-like blocks, ready and waiting outside First Methodist Church to “create and build robots, club houses, thrones, mazes, rainbows and more.”

Looking back at New Year's Eve 2020: Chatham New Year's Eve party still on, but in a smaller way

To “frame” some of the day’s events, volunteers will construct a variety of large, life-size picture frames and place them at locations around Kate Gould Park, creating picturesque settings to capture photo memories of the day for family and friends.

Another award-winning artist will have new works on display on Main Street. Not steel Giants, but ice carvings by Chip Koser of Mashpee, owner of South Cape Ice Sculptures and an executive chef, culinary arts instructor and award-winning ice carver for 30 years.

The popular miniature golf course of past years will move outside to Kate Gould Park, and players can tee off to live music from four-piece local rock band The Placeholders, made up of musicians from Harwich and Chatham.

This year’s photo scavenger hunts – one for kids 12 and under, one for teens – will take “treasure” hunters to different locations to record their “finds,” with completed lists entered in a drawing for five prizes of $100.

A main event will be the Noise Parade that will clatter off at 5 p.m. from the corner of Main and Cross streets. This year, the parade Grand Marshal will be an organization: Eldredge Library staff and friends will lead the parade, commemorating the library’s 125th anniversary.

The parade will wind its way to Veterans Field for the big annual fireworks display at 5:30 p.m., concluding the day’s festivities.

For a detailed listing of all events, activities and times: www.firstnightchatham.com.

There’s no cost or required button for admittance to this year’s outdoor ado, but First Night buttons are available to buy via a donation of any amount on the website for those wishing to help defray the costs of the event.

Provincetown’s First Light

A party atmosphere, including at cabarets and nightspots, will join in friendly Provincetown fashion with many outdoor activities for First Light celebrations to be held on the long weekend of Dec. 30–Jan. 2.

The weekend schedule encourages visitors to spend more than one night in town, participating in events both indoors and out, says Bob Sanborn, executive director of the Provincetown Business Guild, which sponsors the annual event.

Starting Monday, Dec. 27: Provincetown returns to mask mandate for indoor public spaces

Because of rising COVID-19 concerns, as of Dec. 21, Provincetown reinstated a mask mandate for all indoor public spaces. As of Dec. 27, the town required adults to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19 in order to enter certain indoor spaces: indoor dining including bars and nightclubs, indoor fitness and indoor entertainment venues.

Sanborn said Provincetown businesses have long been “proactive at making a safe experience for attendees.”

“People are excited to get back out in a safe way,” he says.

Fans of outdoor activities will have plenty to do. The main event of the First Light fireworks display begins at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31 (changed because of weather from the original New Year's Day) at MacMillan Pier. Viewers can watch for free from any outdoor vantage point along the waterfront.

The annual free Light Bright Bike Ride contest starts in front of the library at 4:30 p.m. Dec. 31, with prizes for top décor given out at the finish. All those who want to compete can meet at the library starting at 3 p.m. to decorate and light up their bikes for the 1-mile ride.

Other activities: What is there to do in Provincetown? Here are ideas for you

The weekend’s most outdoors-y event is the New Year’s Day Polar Bear Plunge, at noon in Provincetown Harbor. That will be followed by warm-up chili and cocktails at the Harbor Lounge. Registration starts at 11:15 a.m. at Johnson Street parking lot.

Weekend indoor headliners will include live concerts featuring Broadway’s “Wicked” star Jessica Vosk, with host and music director Seth Rudetsky at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Art House, and jazz singer Suede at 7:30 p.m. Saturdays at the Crown & Anchor resort. TV/stage singer and comedian Lea Delaria will perform with Mike Flanagan Friday night at The Club she co-owns. Drag Bingo is a yearly sold-out event, and will take place this year at 2 p.m. Jan. 1 at the Crown & Anchor.

Smaller indoor restaurant and club gatherings, many with lowered seating capacity in deference to COVID-19, will include a variety of parties and live performances on New Year’s Eve. Those range from a New Year’s Dinner with two seatings (Crowne Pointe) to smaller piano bar entertainments (Tin Pan Alley) and a Variety Hour (Post Office Café), as well as the annual New Year’s Eve Ball (Crown & Anchor).

The weekend festivities help promote tourism and boost the local economy, Sanborn says. The guild, he says, is a membership organization of local businesses, and planning for the three-day event happens all year long, with work from many volunteer participants. “It truly takes a village,” he says.

A detailed schedule for all weekend events: www.ptown.org/calendar/first-light.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: New Year's Eve celebrations in Chatham and Provincetown