February News from the Spirit of Springfield

Celebrating Springfield's Biggest, Best and Brightest!

We have grand plans for 2024, and you are invited to join us. There will be music in April, pancakes in May, golf in June, fireworks in July, a remembrance in September, followed by a holiday season full of festivities.

We are very excited to launch Bright Nights at Forest Park’s 30th season. It has been quite an honor to work with so many wonderful people to carry on the tradition. We will be sharing more plans as the year progresses.

For now, we are counting down to Spring!

-- Judy Matt

President

2024 and More!

The Spirit of Springfield has many activities planned for 2024. We will have music, family-fun, and festivities, and we will celebrate our community spirit and patriotic pride. We will kick-off the season on Saturday, April 20th with a free concert by the U. S. Army Field Band and the Soldiers’ Chorus at 3pm in Springfield Symphony Hall.

With warmer temperatures, we will move the festivities outside with the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, May 18th in the middle of Main Street. We will recruit golfers, sponsors, and local mayors to participate in the Spirit of Springfield Golf Classic and Mayor’s Cup on Friday, June 7th at Franconia Golf Course. A few weeks later, it will be a celebration of patriotism for a Star Spangled Springfield on Thursday, July 4th in Riverfront Park. To honor the memory of the first responders who lost their lives on September 11th, the annual remembrance ceremony will be held in front of Springfield’s September 11th Monument in Riverfront Park.

In November, we will get the holiday season started with the City of Bright Nights Ball on Saturday, November 9th. We will keep the momentum going straight through to January 5th with Bright Nights at Forest Park’s 30th season, the road race, Supper with Santa, horse-drawn wagon and carriage rides, activities in Santa’s Magical Forest, and a holiday concert.

Be sure to get all of these events on your calendar.

Save the Date

Save the date! The Spirit of Springfield Golf Classic is returning to Franconia Golf Course on Friday, June 7th. The day starts with the Mayor’s Cup Putting Contest at 9am, followed by the 10am shotgun start.

Lunch is served on the course. Every golfer goes home with a great souvenir, a $25 gift card to one of Springfield’s fine restaurants, and knowing they supported the Spirit of Springfield’s efforts to bring the community together in celebration.

Watch for more updates, or email nicole@spiritofspringfield.org to let her know you want to be on this year’s mailing list.

Inaugural Gala

Springfield came out to celebrate Mayor Domenic J. Sarno’s sixth term on Friday, January 5th at the Springfield Marriott. They enjoyed entertainment provided by Richie Mitnick with Joseph Saimeri, the incredible performance and flash mob by the Sci-Tech High School Band, and they filled the dance floor grooving to the Michelle Brooks-Thompson Band.

The evening and all of the inaugural activities were produced by the Spirit of Springfield with support from MassMutual, American Medical Response, Baystate Health, Charlie Arment Trucking, Eversource, Gleason Johndrow Landscaping, Marriott Springfield Downtown, Mercy Medical Center, and WinnCompanies.

Bright Nights Season Pass

Calling all Bright Nights at Forest Park’s super fans! The Bright Nights Season Passes are now available. Starting at just $50, the pass allows entry into the Northeast’s premier holiday lighting experience any and every night, and an unlimited number of times a night. It will come with a complimentary Bright Nights at Forest Park car admission ticket to share with a friend, and a coupon booklet filled with savings at area restaurants and attractions.

If purchasers are not already a member of the Bright Nights Loyalty Club, they will automatically receive a card and all of the perks.

This offer is for a limited time only!

Buses to Bright Nights

Bright Nights at Forest Park bus admissions continue to climb post pandemic showing a 22% increase over the 2022 season. Groups are taking the opportunity to travel together to enjoy the holidays, area attractions and restaurants, and combine it with a trip through the more than 700,000 lights.

As part of their travels to and through Western Massachusetts, groups that came from Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Connecticut, and throughout Massachusetts made stops at MGM Springfield, Holyoke Mall, Yankee Candle, Atkins Farm, Salem Cross Inn, Student Prince, Storrowton Tavern, and Golden Corral. Some groups were families, parties, and from area schools.

All returned home feeling full of holiday spirit and discussing which display was the favorite.

Congratulations Deputy Akers

Springfield has chosen its next police superintendent. When Superintendent Cheryl Clapprood retires later this year after more than 40 years of service to our community, Deputy Larry Akers will lead the department of brave men and women.

Deputy Akers will bring his 38 years of experience overseeing officers in the Metro Unit, Special Victims Unit, Traffic and Motorcycle Unit, and the first to supervise the Gaming Enforcement Unit. He has managed public safety for Star Spangled Springfield, and lead the ceremonial unit for Springfield’s September 11th Remembrance Ceremony.

Remembering Friends

January brought great sadness to the Spirit of Springfield. We mourn the loss of two people who have been long-time supporters of the organization.

Chris Dixon was a member of the Spirit of Springfield team. He has been providing sound and lighting to Spirit of Springfield events since they were Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs (MOCA) events, from the Taste of Springfield to the Parade of the Big Balloons. He brought his equipment and expertise to the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast and Star Spangled Springfield, too. He was an extension of the small but mighty Spirit of Springfield team. He would even bring his “Sound Dog” to meetings.

Carmine Capuano was often one of the first volunteers to report for duty at the World’s Largest Pancake Breakfast before the sun was even up. He was a member of the Springfield UNICO cooking team since the event’s inception in 1986. When Carmine was managing his Italian colleagues, he made sure their pancakes were cooked to perfection. He would give the cue to flip, and his teammates would ask, “How high?”

They will be missed, and fondly remembered as contributing so much to the Spirit of Springfield.

In this Issue

2024 and More!

Save the Date

Inaugural Gala

Bright Nights

Season Pass

Buses to Bright Nights

Congratulations

Deputy Akers

Remembering Friends

Guest Column

Gary R. Bernice

Springfield Sci-Tech Band

September 11th Monument Booklet

Guest Column

Gary R. Bernice

Director of Bands

Springfield High School of Science & Technology

"Performing at the Inaugural Gala was a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience that our band will never forget! Thank you Spirit of Springfield!” -Alishahir Biggs-Rijo, SciTech Band President

The Spirit of Springfield and its entire staff have always made SciTech Band students know that they belong. The performance was electric because students and parents in the room knew that everyone genuinely cared about them. These are the moments that change our City for the better and build student leaders. That night was more than just an Inaugural Gala, it was a celebration of Springfield’s bright future—our students!

The Springfield High School of Science and Technology Band is renowned as one of Massachusetts’ top music programs. Known to City residents as “The Pride of Springfield,” the SciTech Band was the recipient of the Massachusetts Commonwealth Award, the state’s highest honor given for achievement in the arts. Band students have even received a personal letter from President Barack Obama praising them for “dreaming big dreams and improving our community.” Under the direction of Gary Bernice, Anthony Diaz, Carissa Lueth, and Charlotte Walsh, the band is empowering student leaders to give back to their community by sharing the joy of music.