First Night celebrations went underway across Boston on Tuesday- with concert, museum, and art events for children all afternoon, and late night events for all ages. Two sets of fireworks are scheduled at 7 p.m. and midnight.
Each year ice sculptors try to outdo themselves, and this year a special Boston Marathon installation is in Copley Square. Artist Donald Chapelle is from Lawrence.
“I think people love the ice sculptures, it’s a big draw, and of course the music is really popular. But I’m a very small part of a very large event,” he said.
Chapelle and his team are working on another sculpture in front of the Prudential Center - a boy, a huge dog and a doghouse. An 8-year-old boy named Matt from Connecticut looked on, wide-eyed.
“I think that it’s really cool and I can’t draw it so I don’t know how they can craft it out of ice,” he said.
Nearby in the Hynes Convention Center, musicians Dan Zanes and Elizabeth Mitchell warmed up. Chris Cook, director of special events for the City of Boston said that First Night Buttons have dropped in price to $10.
"We keep all the traditions alive, everything that everyone loves about first night is still in place, whether it’s the ice sculptures to the 7 p.m. fireworks and midnight fireworks," he said. "But the things we’ve added – we have a terrific arts festival on Boston Common – they actually have fire installations, so we have fire and ice which is fun and we also have a main stage in Copley Square.”
Security is tight with all the city’s police and fire personnel on duty tonight. The City urges everyone to use public transportation. The MBTA is free after 8 p.m. and service is extended until 2 a.m.
