Come one, come all for the must-see event of the year! Cool Spring Downtown District beckons in 2023 with its second running of the New Year’s Eve Spectacular: The Night Circus. This New Year’s Eve at 7 p.m., Festival Park will transform into a playground of marvels and magic for the community, starring a dazzling lineup of local talent and activities for all ages. 

Director of Special Projects at Cool Spring Downtown District Ashanti Bennett reveals that the inspiration behind the event was a personally beloved novel. 

“I thought of a book I had read, ‘The Night Circus’ by Erin Morgenstern and ever since I had read the book, I knew it would make a good event at some point in time. The novel is based on this traveling, turnof-the-century circus; it turns up one night in this town and it’s gone the next day. Lots of magic, lots of mystical fun things, so it lends itself to a theme for a New Year’s Eve party.”

Aptly put, as the Night Circus in Downtown Fayetteville spices up your normal New Year’s Eve celebration with a multiplicity of fresh new takes on art, music, food, and fun. Attendees can be introduced to new talent but also enjoy the classics all while celebrating the New Year. 

Cool Spring Downtown District is proud to announce the impressive lineup of Fayetteville’s local talent of the music industry. Keeping the party going in Festival Park for the night, the Night Circus will be featuring husband and wife team DJ Miracle and DJ Beatz, in addition to DJ Tommy Gee Mixx. Following will be a special performance by classic soul and R&B band, Tony! Toni! Toné! 

“Nothing quite brings people together like music from the 90s,” Bennett said. 

Imagine Circus’s talented performers will make a flashy appearance at the Night Circus, roaming Festival Park’s grounds, and capturing the attention of attendees with classic acts such as jugglers, unicyclists, balloon artists, fire dancers, magicians, and more. The Night Circus also includes a handful of vendors that will be available for attendees to peruse. 

Not only that, but there also will be a cigar bar presented by the Livery Cigar Emporium, a beer and wine garden, and twelve food trucks for all to enjoy and sample from throughout the night. For the younger audience, there will be a sensory-friendly countdown at 9 p.m. And most excitingly, new media artist Robin Vuchnich is putting together a digital immersion experience in a tent at the center of the festivity for guests to enjoy. Similar to the widely known Van Gogh experience, Vuchnich’s one-of-a-kind work is a mesmerizing synchronization of modern innovation and classic expression. 

The incorporation of Vuchnich’s work is truly faithful to the theme of the Night Circus, harmonizing evocative enchants with contemporary vibes. All the while, the event presents artists of all levels of renown with a platform to display their hard work and skill, and of course, makes for a fantastical, fun night for the public!

“We want to bring world class artists and world class performers and art to Fayetteville, but we also want to make sure we’re uplifting all the talent we have here locally whenever we possibly can,” said Bennett. 

Between a 90s dance party, a whimsical traveling circus, a plethora of food and drink options, and the incorporation of new art media, the Night Circus is an unforgettable New Year’s Eve celebration for everyone. Kicking off the New Year has never looked so magical! 

“It’s a fun project for us. We do a lot of events throughout the year but it’s nice to wrap everything up with a bow at the end of the year and make a big celebration for our community,” said Bennett. “It’s really nice as we were getting ready for this year and we’re going through pictures and videos from last year—oftentimes when you’re in the event, you’re working in it you’re moving through and keeping it going—and being able to see the delight on peoples’ faces the joy and the laughter and the dancing and having a great time, that’s everything.”

All of this was not thrown together alone, and Cool Spring Downtown District extends a special thank you to all its volunteers. 

“We can’t do all of this just us, we do work hard but to pull it off we have amazing volunteers,” said Bennett. “It really is a larger effort; it feeds into the spirit of the event.” 

Opportunities for volunteering are available at Downtown Fayetteville’s website, so the community can really get involved in making the dream come alive. Cool Spring Downtown District’s New Year’s Eve Spectacular: The Night Circus is not an event to be missed. From incorporating new and exciting features like the digital immersion experience, the classic charm of the circus theme, to creating opportunities for local talent and businesses to shine, this is a multifaceted event that really does it all. 

“To see it come to life, something I’ve been visualizing in my head for so long, it really is a source of joy,” said Bennett. The personal connection behind the inspiration for the event really adds a special touch of magic, this is an event that truly inspires a nostalgic sense of whimsy for attendees of all ages. 

Bennett adds, “We want to celebrate Fayetteville and give the community something they can be proud of, and a beautiful way we can all bring in the New Year together.”

_______________________________________________________________

For more information on the event, parking and how you can get involved, you can go online to www.visitdowntownfayetteville.com