This was the 16th year for First Night Jr., which, contrary to its name, takes place in daylight.
HOLYOKE — First Night Jr. on Monday had children and their parents scurrying all over Heritage Park, whose campus includes the Merry-Go-Round, the Visitors’ Center, the Children’s Museum and the Volleyball Hall of Fame.
This was the 16th year for the festival, which, contrary to its name, takes place in daylight.
Among the events scheduled between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. were magic shows, live music, visits from costumed characters, balloon sculpting, juggling, crafts and unlimited rides on the gorgeous, restored 1920s-era Merry-Go Round.
Kelly Keeler, of Belchertown, was watching the Merry-Go-Round from a bench when her 4-year-old daughter Brooklyn shrieked, “Look at Tweety Bird!”
Sure enough, a giant canary and a giant Daffy Duck were perched amid the riders on the carousel.
Outside the building, Robert Tyler of Ware said his little niece had been on the Merry-Go-Round “a million times” since they arrived.
Tyler and his family were admiring the outdoor ice carving by artist Mike Rondeau, which featured a horse inside a circle. “That’s beautiful,” said Tyler. “Great job.”
Melanie Stefanovicz, of Manchester, Conn., said what her little blond daughter, Clara, enjoyed most was making a “balloon princess crown.”
Sophia Lazio of South Hadley, 5, was wearing just such a crown – an elaborate headdress made of elongated balloons and a red balloon heart on top. Her dad, Tony, gently tipped it back from her eyebrows to improve visibility.
“The children are having a great time,” said Gina Pyke of Atlanta, Ga., who was attending the event with grandchildren from South Hadley.
Her brother, Bob O’Hara, of Watchung, N.J., said the family had expected to spend a couple of hours at First Night Jr. – but they had been there since morning “and nobody wants to go home!”
The kids had each taken five or six rides on the Merry-Go-Round, said O’ Hara, and they also kept leading their elders back to the Children’s Museum, which was packed with activities.
In the Visitors’ Center, a turquoise-clad Tessa Pond, 9, of Holyoke, led her little blond cousin in a bouncy dance, as entertainer Bill Shontz sang “Teddy Bear” with an Elvis-like growl.
Shontz, once half of the famed Rosenshontz children’s entertainment duo, played flute, sax and keyboard. He had everyone in the audience on their feet dancing, including a white-haired gentleman in a burgundy sweater.
Ireland Pearson, 6, reported happily that she had been on the Merry-Go-Round twice, with her dad standing next to the horse to steady her. Her brother, Shea, 9, said with dignity that he declined a ride because he was “getting a little too old.”
Nathan Cote, 5, of West Springfield, was proud to say he had ridden the carousel all by himself.
In the Volleyball Hall of Fame, people from the MassMutual Center in Springfield were handing out toy orange “basketballs” that children were then personalizing with felt pens.
The activities were to last until 4 p.m., and some of the parents who appreciated the daylight hours confessed that this would be the extent of their New Year’s Eve celebrating, too.
“This is it,” said Tracy Trial, of Holyoke, whose son Dax, 5, commented that the Merry-Go-Round was much bigger than it seemed at first glance.
Mayor Alex Morse, his strawberry-blond curls contrasting with a black coat, walked through the festivities greeting visitors in advance of a New York-style outdoor “ball drop” to welcome the new year.
Attendance at Holyoke’s First Night Jr. is usually about 1,500, according to Marianne Holden, operations manager of the Merry-Go-Round.