The City of Chicopee is pleased to unveil the 2018 City Events Calendar so that residents and prospective visitors may plan their 2018 nights and weekends accordingly! Although some dates are to be determined, the City Events Committee has firm dates for many of the year’s biggest and most popular events. The Committee’s efforts to coordinate a unified calendar emphasize the collaborative nature of the events, which are only made possible due to the involvement of personnel from every single City of Chicopee department.

The Events Committee strives to enhance the experience of life in Chicopee by planning and implementing the City’s full calendar of public programming, providing residents and visitors of all ages with fun and engaging activities year after year.

A select amount of some of the City’s most popular public events are described below:

The 4^th Annual Downtown GetDown will again take over the streets of Chicopee Center during the summer of 2018! This celebration of local food, music, art, businesses, and community organizations will take place for two days on Friday, August 24^th and Saturday, August 25^th. This year’s event will also feature the 2^nd Annual GetDown 5k race on August 25^th at 9:00am. Last year’s festivities brought 14,000 people to Chicopee Center. The objective of the GetDown is to highlight local businesses and talent, showcase Chicopee Center to visitors, and to throw an entertaining event for all guests. The City maintains its commitment to local residents, visitors, and businesses by again offering free admission to the public! For those interested in being a vendor, sponsor, or participant, please contact Jack Benjamin, Assistant Planner, at (413) 594-1485 or jbenjamin@chicopeema.gov.

The City of Chicopee’s annual Halloween Spooktacular will take place on Tuesday, October 30^th in Chicopee’s downtown. Last year, thousands of children and their families visited the downtown to trick-or-treat from local businesses, enjoy a hot dog and cider, and show-off their costumes and dance moves to some “spooky” music!

Our annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony, which will take place on Friday, November 30^th in Market Square, is a great community event where families kick-off the Holiday season and enjoy Christmas music, holiday treats, and a visit from Santa himself! Last year over 1,000 people attended this free event in which we flipped the switch for our tree lights and brought people to our downtown to see all that it has to offer.

Our eleventh annual Bright Nights for Seniors will take place on Wednesday, December 5^th and Thursday, December 6^th. Again this year we are partnering with our friends at the Knights of Columbus Elder Council #69 and the Chicopee Council on Aging so that we can continue to offer the joys of Bright Nights and a meal with friends at no cost to Chicopee Seniors.

Dates of other popular City events include:

• Easter Egg Hunt at Szot Park – Saturday, March 31^st
• Memorial Day Parade – Monday, May 28^th
• Szot Park Fireworks – Saturday, June 30^th
• Aldenville Commons Concert Series – June 12^th  – August 14^th (Tuesday evenings)
• Camp OPEE Outdoor Adventures – July 2^nd – August 10^th

*PLEASE NOTE: ALL DATES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE.

For a full listing of dates including Parks and Recreation, Library, and other City Departments’ events, please visit the City Event Calendar at www.chicopeema.gov. For more information regarding City Events, please contact Benjamin Strepka, Mayor’s Special Projects Manager, at (413) 594-1500 or bstrepka@chicopeema.gov. Specific event information will be released as it becomes available

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