Bright Nights, News and Updates from the Spirit

Celebrating Springfield's Biggest, Best and Brightest!

November has arrived! It will be filled with holiday festivities. We will kick it off with the City of Bright Nights Ball on November 13^th. Bright Nights at Forest Parks opens November 24^th and the festivities continue through January 2^nd. These include the Bright Nights 5K Road Race, Military and Emergency First Responders Night, Supper with Santa, $10 Tuesdays, and the horse drawn wagon and carriage rides that are almost sold out.

Tickets for the 215^th Army Band of the Massachusetts Army National Guard Band free holiday concert at Springfield Symphony Hall will be available at Big Y World Class Markets on November 18th.

We look forward to celebrating a joyous holiday season with you!

-- Judy Matt

President

Bright Nights at Forest Park is Back!

Bright Nights at Forest Park will kick off its 27^th season on Wednesday, November 24, 2021, with a special guest flipping the switch on all 675,000 lights. In addition to the magical lighting display illuminating the three-mile drive, Santa’s Magical Forest will be welcoming visitors to enjoy, snacks, souvenirs, and whirl on the carousel. Santa will be greeting visitors at the entrance on opening night as well as Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays through December 19^th.

Santa’s Magical Forest is located just passed Seuss Land. The concession stand will offer a full menu of soups, sandwiches, snacks, hot chocolate and more. In the gift shop, there will be plenty of souvenirs including the newest edition to the Bright Nights’ children’s book and matching tie dye shirts, campfire mugs, and musical lanterns. Carousel rides are $3 each or two for $5.

Horse-drawn wagon and carriage rides are also returning to Bright Nights at Forest Park. The wagon rides sold out quickly and the carriage rides have limited availability. These are a great way to enhance the holiday visit as is Supper with Santa at the Barney Carriage House on December 5^th and 12^th.

Bright Nights Bargains

For those looking for discounts, Bright Nights at Forest Park has several options. On Roll Back Night, Wednesday, November 24^th, admission is just $6 per car, the same price as when Bright Nights made its debut in 1995. $10 Tuesdays will be offered on December 7^th and 14^th. Expect lines to be long.

Big Y World Class Markets will be selling general admission tickets for just $16.50 per car starting November 11^th. These tickets can be used any night during the 2021 season, and they make great gifts, stocking stuffers, and teacher gifts.

Bright Nights online tickets will be coming soon!

City of Bright Nights Ball to Blossom

The City of Bright Nights Ball is celebrating its 25^th anniversary on Saturday, November 13^th, at MGM Springfield. It is sponsored by Eastman. More than 350 guests have purchased tickets and are ready to kick-off the holiday season in high style. The ladies are going to be dressed in gowns, and men are wearing tuxedos.

To remember Peter Picknelly, Sr., who thought a black-tie gala would help to raise funds to bring a bit of Bright Nights at Forest Park to Downtown Springfield, and to honor those that have maintained its beauty for the past 25 years, the Spirit of Springfield is working with Missy Thibault, Chris Teebo Films, to create a video to capture the event’s history. It will be shown at the 2021 City of Bright Nights Ball.

Online and Live Auction

As a part of the City of Bright Nights Ball, the Spirit of Springfield will have live and silent auctions. The items are so great and have wide appeal, they are available to all.

Silent auction items will be available online. There is everything from the a suite at the MassMutual Center for a Springfield Thunderbirds game with $300 for food and beverage, tickets to a 2022 Boston Red Sox game, trips, and handbags. There are gift certificates for Skin Catering, Flowers, Flowers!, tickets to a New England Patriots game and so much more!

For the live auction, MGM Springfield has donated their box at Fenway which has 22 seats for a 2022 Boston Red Sox home game , and King Gray Coachline is providing road trip transportation. There will be a trip to MGM’s National Harbor for the 2022 cherry blossoms, and tickets for Moulin Rouge in the Can Can seats.

If you are not attending the gala, bids for live auction items, which will be detailed on spiritofspringfield.org, will be accepted in advance by emailing amy@spiritofspringfield.org with minimum, maximum, bidding increments, and payment information by November 11^th.

Last Call for Bright Nights Season Pass

The 2021 Bright Nights Season Pass is ideal for anyone who plans to travel through Bright Nights at Forest Park several times throughout the season. It is available only through November 15^th.

The Bright Nights Season Pass can be used any night of the season and as many times as the driver and the passengers desire. It comes with a coupon book full of discounts. This includes free rides on the carousel, a complimentary car admission for a friend or family member, discounts at the gift shop, as well as area restaurants, attractions, and more.

The current price for the 2021 Bright Nights Season Pass is $60. Buy yours online today at brightnights.org.

New Board Members Welcomed and New Officers Elected

At the Spirit of Springfield October annual meeting, the non-profit organization voted to welcome two new board members, and elect new officers to offer guidance, support, knowledge, and experience.

The new directors are Abe Berry from MGM Springfield and Robert Simone from WWLP-22News.

Abe Berry serves as Vice President of Hospitality for MGM Springfield. He brings more than 27 years of experience in the hospitality industry, including seven of those years with MGM Resorts in four different states. The properties he has helped manage range from luxury hotels to gaming properties including Ritz Carlton, Marriott, and Westin Hotels.

In his current role, he oversees food and beverage, the hotel, environmental services, housekeeping, and retail. He is an avid wine enthusiast, and he enjoys developing new food and beverage concepts.

He is a native of Detroit, Michigan. He is a husband, father, and grandfather.

Robert Simone graduated from West Springfield High School. He began his career at WWLP-22News after achieving his bachelor’s degree from Western New England University. From there, he moved to Salt Lake City where he served as station manager.

Bob worked in some of the largest markets in the country including Chicago, Denver, and Philadelphia. He served as a broadcast consultant, analyst and advisor, before returning to managing television stations. In 2018, he came back to Western Massachusetts to serve as Vice President and General Manager of Nexstar Broadcasting Groups operations at WWLP-22News.

Bob is also a veteran having served the United States Army – National Guard as an Informational Specialist.

New officers were elected to provide leadership for the Spirit of Springfield. John Sjoberg, a longtime supporter and past Vice Chair, was elected to a two-year term as Chair. He is the President of New England Business Machine.

Kathy Tobin-Martin, Director of Annual Giving for Baystate Health Foundation, was elected to serve as Vice Chair. Kathy has been a friend to the organization from her days as an anchor and news director at ABC40 and Western Mass News.

Elected to serve as Treasurer was Chris Russell, Executive Director of the Springfield Business Improvement District. Chris has been a member of the Spirit of Springfield Board since 2017.

The Spirit of Springfield Board voted to extend the term of Attorney Melinda Phelps, Partner with Bulkley, Richardson and Gelinas, and elected her to service as Clerk. Attorney Phelps served as Board Chair from 2017 to 2021.

In this Issue

Bright Nights at Forest Park is Back!

Bright Nights Bargains

City of Bright Nights Ball to Blossom

Online and Live Auctions

Last Call for Bright Nights Season Pass

New Board Members Welcome and New Officers Elected

Guest Column

John E. Sjoberg, Chair

Spirit of Springfield

Bright Nights Loyalty Card

Guest Column

John E. Sjoberg

Chair, Spirit of Springfield

It is a great personal honor to serve as the Chairman of the Spirit of Springfield. My service will always lie in the shadows of a long line of leaders in our community whom I have always respected, Peter Picknelly Sr., Bill Pepin, Sister Mary Caritas, and my predecessor - Attorney Melinda Phelps, to name just a few.

Their vision and the dedicated Spirit of Springfield staff, lead by its President Judy Matt, recognize the important mission our organization provides to our residents and their families.

I can tell you that the board of directors do not serve this organization because we like pancakes, balloons, fireworks and holiday lights, although we do love all of those things. We serve because we truly feel that we play an important role by bringing people together to share common experiences and common bonds.

There has never been a more important time in our community and country to bring people together to create lifetime memories, and celebrate all that is good. The diverse mosaic that is our Springfield, can be a shining bright light for our region and beyond, as we work together to improve and strengthen the true sense of community for all.

Please join me in thanking our many corporate supporters, elected officials, city leaders, and benefactors who make the Spirit of Springfield possible. We truly are together for a reason… creating Bright Days and Bright Nights for everyone.