No Middnight on Main 2014: Founders Unable to Pass the Baton

This article written by Cassandra Day.

Organizers of the city's New Year's Eve celebration say they have been unable to find another group to take over the event and continue it for a third year.

Middletown's ambitious Middnight on Main, which for the last two years on Dec. 31 spanned four city blocks downtown and featured more than 100 performers, activities, films, concerts and a fireworks show, was always intended to be a two-year project. 

Spearheaded by Community Health Center, Middnight on Main had many stakeholders its first two years, including the Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce, Wesleyan University, Downtown Business District, North End Action Team, Oddfellows Playhouse, Green Street Arts Center, Kidcity Children’s Museum, and The Buttonwood Tree.

Jen Alexander, Executive Director of Kidcity, one of three coordinators, says Middnight was formed as a nonprofit entity from the beginning so it could be turned over to another group, like the City of Middletown, to spearhead it in the future.

According to a letter dated Feb. 18, Middnight on Main coordinators Community Health Center CEO Mark Masselli, Alexander and Lucy McMillan wrote the mayor and common council saying they were ready to step down.

Middnight's second year, the letter says, was used "to expand the base of supporters and get the festival on an even keel financially," which Alexander says did happen. "We broke even."

"This financial stability proves that there’s an audience for the festival, and we have developed a brand that will only grow and grow… . We’re hopeful that the city will be able to step forward as the lead sponsor and organizer of the event, using the structure and contacts that we have developed," the letter says.

Mayor Dan Drew says the city will not take over Middnight.

"If you look at the cost to take it over, it is an enormous amount of money to run it and we don't really have the capacity to do the private fundraising that is required," Drew says.

The city provided Middnight with $10,000 in support for 2012's celebration and for last year's event, a $25,000 contribution was made plus in-kind services of police and firefighters, the bill for which would have run "tens of thousands of dollars," Drew says. 

"Now if we took it over unilaterally, it would be an enormous financial undertaking for the city and its unpredictable as far as the weather."

Both years, Centerplan Companies, Pratt & Whitney, other businesses, and more than 280 volunteers supported Middnight, tickets for which were $20 for adults, $10 for children and free for youth under 2. Those who volunteered for a three-hour shift earned a T-shirt and free admission.

Still, some individuals said the cost was somewhat prohibitive for a family and prevented them from taking part. A family with three children would pay $70 to attend any part of the nine-hour event.

The chamber and the city are in talks now, Drew says, to see if a jointly sponsored small fireworks show is feasible.

"It's not going to be the same Middnight on Main," Drew says. "What happened both years is a lot of people came downtown for the fireworks and then left."

Alexander disagrees. During the first year's event, an uncommon 55-degree Saturday night, 8,500 people came to the city, many of which ate dinner at downtown restaurants, she says.

The second year, a Monday night, which Alexander says still drew the same large number of people, downtown businesses enjoyed a healthy number of diners.

It even had an iPhone and Android app that allowed folks to Tweet about their experiences, search for places to eat, create a personalized schedule in chronological order, as it broke down musical acts by genre and offered a GPS navigator for directions to various venues. 

She likens Middletown's first night celebration to the annual mayor's ball which has a committee, some of whose members change over the years, or the city's Fourth of July festival and fireworks, which didn't take place in 2011.

"Sometimes events — they change they grow, like the [Head of the Connecticut] regatta," Alexander says. "It doesn't mean it won't take place in the future."

She's optimistic Middnight will continue.

"I think it was a wonderful experience but it was a huge commitment," Alexander says. "It was fun, very exciting; it was thrilling to see Main Street alive with so many things happening. 

"I don't see any reason why it could not happen in two years." 

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