PRESS
RELEASE December 21, 2005 (717) 576-0076
COMMUNITY INVITED TO INAUGURAL NEW YEAR’S EVE IN HERSHEY The Township of Derry will kick off the New Year with its inaugural family event, New Year’s Eve in Hershey on December 31 starting at 9 p.m. at the corners of Chocolate and Cocoa Avenues. The evening will feature a special Hershey’s Kiss raise at the new Press Building in downtown Hershey. The special 7 foot-tall, 300-pound Hershey’s Kiss was created by Stoner Graphix of Hummelstown in cooperation with The Hershey Company and Hershey Entertainment & Resorts. Local children Rodeo Thompson, Sara Frick and Alyssa Smith, the winners of the kids’ Kiss Contest will join 7-year old Duncan Welch from The Four Diamonds Fund and 11-year old Elijah Davenport from Children’s Miracle Network to help raise the Kiss. The Kiss raise will be followed by a spectacular fireworks display by Zembelli Fireworks. The fun begins at 9 p.m. with music provided by Not Quite Einstein, The Pink Yard Flamingos and the headline act, Big Tubba Mista, will play from 10:30 p.m. until midnight. Local performers include singers from the Hershey Area Playhouse and piano by Marc Lubbers near the food court on the upper level of the new parking garage, and dancers from One Broadway and The Hershey School of Dance in Chocolatetown Square Park. Children’s entertainer Jim Rule will provide songs for the younger set in the lower level of the parking garage along with games for kids provided by the Evangelical Free Church of Hershey and the Fishburn United Methodist Church. The Hershey’s Kissmobile, the Hershey’s Product Characters, The WINK 104 Boom Box and Zembo Clowns also will be on hand. The Hershey Company will distribute 5,000 bags of its new Kissables to the New Year’s crowd. Penn State Hershey Medical Center will provide a fly-over by Life Lion as well. New Year’s Eve in Hershey also will feature great cuisine and fun food from a variety of Hershey restaurants and community and church groups. Attendees may pick up a commemorative souvenir program while supplies last. Hershey New Year’s Eve t-shirts and sweatshirts will be for sale in the food court area. Hand-clappers, courtesy of Sovereign Bank, will be distributed to the crowd by event volunteers. The New Year’s Eve in Hershey event committee consists of 100 volunteers including a core group of Community Celebration Committee members who organized the Derry Township picnic celebrations. “We are thrilled to see our months and months of hard work develop into an incredible New Year’s Eve celebration I guarantee people won’t want to miss,” said event organizer Mike Pries. Park Avenue will be closed starting at 4 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and Chocolate Avenue between Hockersville Road and Homestead will be closed starting at 8 p.m. Through traffic will be permitted to allow people to reach local restaurants and businesses. The Hershey Company is providing complimentary parking in the lots at 14 East Chocolate Avenue and the lot on the south side of Chocolate Avenue. Additional parking is available on nearby streets. New Year’s Eve in Hershey is free of charge. Food and souvenir items are available for purchase. The event will be held despite inclement weather. The event is sponsored in part by Platinum Sponsors The Hershey Company, Hershey Entertainment & Resorts, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Buchart-Horn/Basco Associates, Derry Township Commercial Industrial Development Authority and Pepsi Bottling Group. Media sponsors are WHP-TV, WINK 104 and The Hershey Chronicle. Other sponsors are listed on the website. Tax-deductible corporate and individual sponsors still are needed to support the event. For information on making a contribution and other details of the event, please visit www.HersheyNewYears.org.
### |
