Festival of Lights draws big crowds to the common

Worcester braved the cold to celebrate the season on the Common Oval with inventive lights, hot cocoa, food and live music

BY

Steve Smith

·

Share

Dancer-singers from the Jo Ann Warren Studio performed to some holiday classics (photo by Steve Smith)

WORCESTER—The Worcester Common Oval glowed against the night sky on Dec. 5 as hundreds gathered for the city’s annual Festival of Lights, a tradition that reliably turns the downtown green into one of the most photographed spots of the season.

Ricky Duran, of NBC's "The Voice" fame, performed with his band, the Blue Light Bandits. And this is what it looks like when musicians have to play in the freezing cold! (photo by Steve Smith)
Ricky Duran, of NBC’s “The Voice” fame, performed with his band, the Blue Light Bandits. And this is what it looks like when musicians have to play in the freezing cold! (photo by Steve Smith)

Despite temperatures dipping into the 20s, families, students and after-work crowds bundled up and stayed for hours, drifting between performances, craft stations, food trucks and the steadily rotating line at the ice-skating rink.

"Waves," an immersive light art installation by designer Studio JF Creative generates new shapes and perspectives, resembling ocean waves for viewers (photo by Steve Smith)
“Waves,” an immersive light art installation by designer Studio JF Creative generates new shapes and perspectives, resembling ocean waves for viewers (photo by Steve Smith)

Food options skewed comfort-forward—chocolate-covered strawberries, mac-and-cheese, hot dogs and plenty of hot cocoa in mittened hands. Performers from Cirque De Light kept eyes lifted with fire juggling, dancers weaving between torchlight, a winter queen towering on stilts, and an aerial routine on the lollipop lyra by Chelsea Errante, who told onlookers the apparatus takes its name from its distinctive candy-shaped silhouette.

James Aulenback hands some hot chocolate to a young customer from the Berry Sweets truck (photo by Steve Smith)
James Aulenback hands some hot chocolate to a young customer from the Berry Sweets truck (photo by Steve Smith)

The steps of City Hall doubled as the main stage, with a steady roster of school and community groups performing throughout the evening. Among them were the Burncoat High School Quadrivium Chorus, Jo Ann Warren Studio, Many Voices: Mechanics Hall Youth Singers, Midland Street Elementary Youth Choir and North High School.

The night’s biggest draw came when Ricky Duran—known for his run as first runner-up on season 17 of NBC’s “The Voice”—performed with the Blue Light Bandits, drawing a thick semicircle of fans that grew deeper as the temperature dropped.

The Festival of Lights marked the unofficial start of Worcester’s downtown holiday season, filling the Oval with the kind of long lines, bundled crowds and cold-weather stamina that’s wrapped in city pride.

Check out more images from the Festival of Lights on the Worcester Guardian’s Instagram page.

Steve Smith, a veteran reporter with 17 years at The Hartford Courant, now brings his passion for photojournalism to Worcester. An award-winning photographer, he has covered major events like U.S. soccer, pro football, and UConn basketball. He is also the official photographer for the Miss Massachusetts competition and works as a realtor. Contact him at steve@stevephotographysmith.com

Post Views: 155