ORANGE — Nine people met at Orange Town Hall last week after the Orange Revitalization Partnership made a public appeal for volunteers to keep the town’s New Year’s Eve tradition from riding into the sunset.
ORP President Mary King and Vice President Crystal Parent spoke casually to area residents who stopped by last Thursday to hear why there is the need for new leadership if Starry Starry Night is to continue. Starry Starry Night was founded 20 years ago by Mary King’s husband, Manuel King, who is stepping away from the project.
“After 20 years, we’re getting stale,” Manuel King said. “We need new vision, new ideas.”
Mary King said the event started small and has grown tremendously. Starry Starry Night typically consists of a parade, fireworks and entertainers, such as bands, puppeteers and comedians. Manuel King said entertainers are paid top-dollar because they are in demand to perform on New Year’s Eve.
“If it was in July, they would cost half as much,” he said.
Mary King said Starry Starry Night began after Orange was featured in “Hidden Massachusetts,” a series of articles published 20 years ago in The Boston Globe. She said the Globe told the story of a troubled family originally from Oklahoma and unfairly portrayed Orange in a negative light.
However, she said, the series jump-started a grassroots effort to give people a fun and family-friendly event on New Year’s Eve, a night notorious for wild partying.
After speaking, Mary King pointed out posters on the room’s walls, where the people in attendance could sign up to fulfill the event’s organizational needs. Necessary jobs include (but are not limited to) event coordination, publicity, grant writing and web design.
Mary King also encouraged Thursday’s volunteers to recruit friends and family members and to keep their eyes peeled for potential entertainers, who she said should be booked by mid-September.
She said Starry Starry Night has been featured in Yankee Magazine and won a Gold Star Award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council.
People interested in Starry Starry Night Committee can contact Parent at:
crystalparent34@gmail.com
You can reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 258.
On Twitter: @DomenicPoli