First Night Boston is the city's free New Year's Eve celebration: a day of music, dance and family performances that runs from late morning on December 31 past midnight, with ice sculptures on City Hall Plaza, a parade to Boston Common, family fireworks over the Common at 7 p.m. and a second display over the Inner Harbor at midnight. No ticket or button is needed. It began on December 31, 1976, and the 2025 to 2026 edition was its 50th anniversary. Everything below comes from the organizers' and the City of Boston's pages for that edition, checked October 7, 2026; the program for December 31, 2026, a Thursday, has not been published yet.
First Night Boston at a glance
| What | Where | Last edition (Dec. 31, 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Performances | City Hall Plaza main stage, Copley Square, the Boston Public Library, churches in Back Bay and other venues | From 10 a.m.; main stage acts until 12:30 a.m. |
| Ice sculptures | City Hall Plaza | Noon Dec. 31 to 12:30 a.m. Jan. 1 |
| Frog Pond Skating Spectacular | Frog Pond, Boston Common | 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. |
| First Night Parade | City Hall Plaza to Boston Common | 6 p.m. |
| Mugar Family Fireworks | Over Boston Common | 7 p.m. |
| Midnight Harbor Fireworks | Over the Inner Harbor | Midnight |
| Admission | All venues | Free; indoor venues first come, first served |
Who runs it, and what it costs
First Night is a production of Boston Celebrations, Inc., the nonprofit that also produces July's Boston Harborfest, and the City of Boston describes the event as run by Boston Celebrations and managed by Conventures, Inc., with the City as a partner. The festival is entirely free; no purchase is required for any event. That has been true since 2015. Before then, visitors bought First Night buttons to get into many events and exhibits, and the organizers still keep an archive of past button designs. Sponsors and public donations now pay for it.
Indoor performances can fill up. The organizers say indoor shows may have capacity limits and are first come, first served, so arrive early for anything in a church or library hall.
Where First Night happens
The hub is City Hall Plaza, next to Boston City Hall, which hosted the celebration for the third straight year in 2025. The plaza carries the main stage, the ice sculptures and, for the 50th edition, an illuminated interactive light installation, Brighter Ignited by artist Tova Speter, lit from 5 p.m. to midnight. The City counted more than 12 hours of free programming across City Hall Plaza, Copley Square and other areas, with new acts in ten venues.
The Back Bay cluster is a second, calmer circuit. On December 31, 2025, there were performances in Copley Square, the Central Library of the Boston Public Library (including its Newsfeed Cafe and Rabb Hall), Trinity Church, Old South Church, the First Church of Christ, Scientist, and Copley Place, where the Puppet Showplace Theater staged children's shows. Old South Church's "Pipes and Pops" concert paired brass and percussion with the church's E. M. Skinner organ, which has more than 7,000 pipes, and closed with "Auld Lang Syne."
Downtown, the Boston Public Market hosted family music, and First Night provided free rides on the Greenway Carousel on the Rose Kennedy Greenway from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. On Boston Common, The Skating Club of Boston staged its Frog Pond Skating Spectacular at 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., with competitive skaters, synchronized skating and Theater on Ice teams.
The fireworks: 7 p.m. and midnight
First Night still has two fireworks shows. The Mugar Family Fireworks go up over Boston Common at 7 p.m., about a quarter-hour display timed for families who will not stay until midnight. The First Night Parade leads into it: colorful community groups leave City Hall Plaza at 6 p.m., and once the performers pass, the public is invited to walk with them to the Common. Past participants listed by the organizers include the Boston Windjammers, the Jamaica Plain Honk Band, the Puppeteers' Cooperative and the William Diamond Fife and Drum.
At midnight the Harbor Fireworks light the Inner Harbor and skyline. The organizers' schedule lists them over the Inner Harbor, presented by Meet Boston; our guide to where Boston Harbor is explains the waterfront. The main stage on City Hall Plaza and the harbor are separate places, and The Sultans played the plaza from 11:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. in 2025, so decide before the countdown whether you want the band or the water. Faneuil Hall Marketplace sits between the two.
Ice sculptures
Ice sculptures are the most photographed part of First Night. For the 2025 to 2026 edition they stood on City Hall Plaza, open for viewing from noon on December 31 until 12:30 a.m. on January 1, with themes drawn from 2026 events such as Sail Boston and Massachusetts 250. Carving depends on the weather, so carvers may still be finishing pieces early in the evening, and, weather permitting, some sculptures stay on view into New Year's Day. The City's announcement also listed ice sculptures in Copley Square, and First Night again teamed with Boston Harbor Now for its waterfront Ice Sculpture Stroll.
How the day ran in 2025: an hour-by-hour plan
The last full schedule is the best guide to how a First Night day flows. With young children, the daytime programs and the 7 p.m. fireworks make a full day; the main stage carries on to midnight. On December 31, 2025:
| Time | What was on |
|---|---|
| 10 a.m. | Sing-along for children at the Boston Public Market; a Mapparium experience at The Mother Church Extension until 4 p.m. |
| 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Free Greenway Carousel rides on the Rose Kennedy Greenway |
| Noon to 3 p.m. | Lion dance and martial arts in Copley Square, concerts at the Central Library, dance at Copley Place, archery on Boston Common |
| 1 p.m. | Emancipation Proclamation Concert at Trinity Church; puppet shows at Copley Place from 1:30 p.m. |
| 2 to 5:40 p.m. | Hourly sets on the City Hall Plaza main stage |
| 3 and 5:30 p.m. | Frog Pond Skating Spectacular on Boston Common |
| 6 p.m. | First Night Parade leaves City Hall Plaza; Pipes and Pops at Old South Church at 6:30 and 8 p.m. |
| 7 p.m. | Mugar Family Fireworks over Boston Common |
| 7:20 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. | Main stage bands on City Hall Plaza, ending with The Sultans from 11:30 p.m. |
| Midnight | Harbor Fireworks over the Inner Harbor |
Getting there: the T, parking and safety
Take the T. City Hall Plaza is served by Government Center (Blue and Green lines), Haymarket (Orange and Green lines) and State Street (Orange and Blue lines). On December 31, 2025, the MBTA did not collect fares on subway, bus, ferry or the RIDE after 8 p.m., and First Night's travel page said the subway ran a Sunday schedule with extra service after 3 p.m. Holiday schedules are posted at mbta.com/holidays each December; confirm the late-night plan there before you count on a last train.
Parking downtown is very limited on New Year's Eve and streets near the events close or restrict parking. First Night points drivers to garages: Center Plaza Garage, City Place Garage, Pi Alley Parking Garage, Dock Square Parking Garage and the Garage at Post Office Square.
The Boston Police Department reminds visitors not to drink alcohol in public spaces, not to fly drones at any First Night activity, and to dress for the weather. The event was created as a family-friendly, alcohol-free celebration, and it is outdoors in a Boston winter: our Boston winter planner covers what December weather means for a visit.
Where to stay for New Year's Eve
To be close to City Hall Plaza and the harbor fireworks, stay downtown or on the waterfront: the Omni Parker House on School Street, the Boston Marriott Long Wharf and the Boston Harbor Hotel on Rowes Wharf. If you plan to spend the afternoon at the Back Bay venues, the Fairmont Copley Plaza faces Copley Square. First Night lists hotels that sell rooms with fireworks views; ask the hotel directly about rates and which rooms face the show.
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First Night 2027: what is announced
As of October 7, 2026, firstnightboston.org still shows the program that opened 2026, and no schedule, performer list or fireworks times have been posted for December 31, 2026. The 2025 edition followed this shape: programming from 10 a.m., the parade at 6 p.m., fireworks over the Common at 7 p.m. and over the harbor at midnight. Treat that as a guide until the organizers publish the new schedule; the 2025 program was posted on their Sched page, linked from firstnightboston.org.
A short history
First Night was established in Boston on December 31, 1976. It was envisioned by the artist Clara Wainwright as a way to give Boston-area artists and musicians venues across the city in a family-friendly, alcohol-free setting. The format has since been copied by First Night celebrations in other cities around the world. The button system funded it for decades until the event became entirely free in 2015. The City tied the 50th-anniversary edition to Boston 250, its commemoration of the city's role in the American Revolution. For more December and January ideas see things to do in Boston in December, things to do in Boston in January and Boston at night.
Sources: First Night Boston: About, Fireworks, Parade, Ice Sculptures, Travel, First Night 2026 schedule, City of Boston First Night preparations. Checked October 7, 2026.