Highlight, Burlington’s official New Year’s Eve celebration, has been produced by Burlington City Arts since 2018 and takes place at locations throughout the city on December 31. Many of the unique festivities are crowdsourced through the Bright Ideas Project, which asks artists and innovators to envision one-of-a-kind events that Burlington City Arts supports with funding. Other events round out this incredible annual showcase of music, art, food, and community joy.

For Highlight 2025, we’re welcoming revelers from far and wide to celebrate with unique experiences in downtown Burlington and at the Waterfront. We’ll set the stage for the biggest party of the year as we come together to count down the experiences and ideas that make our community a hub of incredible creativity. Artists, food vendors, musicians, and everyone in between helps build an event that HIGHLIGHTS the best of Vermont!

Questions? Email hello@highlight.community or call (802) 222-6270

We allow leashed, well-behaved dogs in Waterfront Park. Please be aware that there are crowds, kids (often running around), food, and music during ours events. We also have fireworks at 8 pm. Service dogs are allowed in any venue, inside and out.

Highlight’s events are designed and built by your friends and neighbors. Through the “Bright Ideas Project,” Burlington City Arts crowdsources ideas from Vermonters for all kinds of New Year’s Eve happenings. Every year we send out an open call for proposals, and offer funding and support to select ideas from Vermonters that come to life at Highlight.

Contact Zach Williamson at zwilliamson@burlingtoncityarts.org with specific requests for accommodations.

Our Mission

Create a safe space for a global community to celebrate and support Vermont-grown performers with friends, family, and neighbors, both near and far.

Who are our community members?

Vermont is Highlight’s home, but our community reaches far and wide beyond Vermont’s borders. We welcome people from around the world to celebrate and be a part of our community.

What values does our community hold?

We expect all members of our community to support and celebrate:

• Diversity
• Creativity
• Kindness
• Open-mindedness
• Respect
• Safety

All community members must follow our community rules including: 

• Helping other community members when needed
• Showing respect to others at all times
• Keeping an open mind about creative works
• Celebrating our differences and similarities alike

We will NOT tolerate those who engage in interactions or content that may be: 

• Inappropriately sexual or graphic
• Dangerous, harmful, or unsafe
• Hateful, violent, threatening, or harassing
• Misleading or intending to spam or scam
• Illegal in any way
• Encroaching on the privacy of others
• Unsafe for children