Hattiesburg, Mississippi – On Tuesday, December 31, 2019, the City of Hattiesburg will join VisitHATTIESBURG and the Hattiesburg Downtown Association to present the city’s 2nd Annual New Year’s Eve Celebration – Midnight on Front Street.
The inaugural event occurred in 2018, when Mayor Toby Barker initiated the city’s first-ever New Year’s Eve “drop” with the iconic Hub Sign at the intersection of Main and Front Streets. The sign, a focal point for the night, was a replica of the original sign that was illuminated in 1912 on Thanksgiving Day.
“Hattiesburg’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are a time for us to honor the past while casting a bold vision for the future,” said Barker. “When we lower a replica of the 1912 Hub Sign at Midnight, we look forward with great expectation to the incredible changes that will await our city in the 2020s. We invite all to come out as we elevate Hattiesburg as Mississippi’s New Year’s Eve destination.”
Midnight on Front Street will feature a three-sided replica of the 1912 sign, outfitted with hundreds of LED lights and suspended approximately 100-feet in the air at the intersection of Front and Main Streets by the Hattiesburg Fire Department’s ladder truck. The drop will serve as a visual countdown for all participants as the clock strikes Midnight, which will promptly be followed by a dual fireworks display.
With the streets of downtown still lit beautifully from the Christmas holidays, Marlo Dorsey, Executive Director of VisitHATTIESBURG says Hattiesburg is already a top holiday destination for shopping, dining and festivities like Olde Tyme Christmas and the Victorian Candle Lighting.
“Midnight on Front Street just gives us one more great reason to spend time in Hattiesburg for the holidays,” said Dorsey. “With city officials and our tourism partners, we are all working together to make Hattiesburg a premier destination location for New Year’s Eve.”
Several hotels are offering stay & play packages for visitors coming to Hattiesburg for the event or for locals who want their own version of a “staycation.” VisitHATTIESBURG is also partnering with Hotel Indigo to give away a one night, two day stay package for New Year’s Eve, valued at $500. The package includes a stay for two, with tickets to the New Year’s Eve Ball at The Bottling Company, drinks for two on New Year’s Eve and breakfast for two on New Year’s Day at the Brass Hat.
In addition to the Hub Sign drop and dual fireworks display, several events and businesses will be celebrating the night in a variety of ways – both for the family-friendly crowds and the 21+ audience. Downtown restaurants will also be serving breakfast at Midnight. Nellie’s, Blu Jazz, The Porter, Fairley’s and Coney Island will all be open.
“This is a new Hattiesburg tradition that will create memories that you, your friends and family will hold for a lifetime,” said Andrea Saffle, Executive Director of the Hattiesburg Downtown Association. “Just like those who were in the crowd when the original 1912 Hub Sign was illuminated, we invite you to Downtown Hattiesburg this New Year’s Eve to ring in 2020 in a truly spectacular way.”
For a full schedule, a listing of hotel packages, transportation, additional NYE celebrations and more, visit hburgnye.com.
About the Hub Sign:
The 1912 sign, a gift to benefit the city by the Henry L. Doherty & Company, was 42-feet in diameter, with 1,142 lights, rising 50-feet above the Ross Building (now the American Building on Front Street) and 140-feet from the sidewalk.
The 2018 replica sign was constructed by John Aust of Aust Farms. It is constructed of three 5-foot by 5-foot sheets of stamped steel and weighs approximately 375 pounds. On New Year’s Eve, it hangs approximately 100 feet in the air with help from the Hattiesburg Fire Department’s ladder truck.
About Midnight on Front Street:
Midnight on Front Street is a premier destination event for Hattiesburg, hosted by the City of Hattiesburg, VisitHATTIESBURG and the Hattiesburg Downtown Association. For all details regarding the event and its partners, visit hburgnye.com.
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