Welcome 2014 in style, and in good company. Here are a few options to consider:
Chatham - the King of the Cape's First Night celebrations, since 1991 - continues its reign. There will be midnight fireworks at Oyster Pond, where you can also watch the illuminated Cod drop at midnight. If that's too late for you, Chatham also has an early-bird "Family New Year's Eve" - a Noise Parade from the First United Methodist Church to Veteran's Field gets going at 6pm, with giant puppets and costumed creatures, and culminates in fireworks at 6:30pm. More info.
Sandwich goes in for First Night too, and the town is offering an exuberant line-up of festivities. A parade with luminous sea creatures will launch at 6pm, moving down Main Street, followed by a dance in the Wing School gym. More info.
Nantucket welcomes 2014 with abundance: five days of events, beginning on Saturday, December 28, and ending on New Year's Day. The Whaling Museumoffers a "Festival of Trees." Nantucket Dreamland Studio Theater reprises its popular nighttime Cabaret. And in the culminating countdown event, WCAI's Mindy Todd rings in the New Year at a black-and-white masked ball at the Nantucket Hotel. More info.
More information about all events can be found here.
Steve Junker and Cape Week editor Kathi Scrizzi Driscoll survey the events calendar every Thursday during All Things Considered. Audio of this week's conversation is posted above - give it a listen.