By John Chambless
Staff Writer

In an event that gets bigger every year, thousands of people turned out to welcome the new year in downtown Kennett Square during “Midnight in the Square.”

The weather cooperated, although bundling up against the chill was required for everyone. Parents, kids of all ages and twentysomethings met and mingled in shops, restaurants and outside on the streets an sidewalks. With the lighted mushroom hanging overhead, visitors could sample delicious foods from Kaboburritos, M&M BBQ, Nomadic Pies and State Street Pizza. At the Garage Community Youth Center, people could warm up a bit while sampling food, beer and wine beginning at 9 p.m.

On stage, dancers from Longwood Performing Arts performed, along with the band Rose Project, singer Veronika Petra and others. The Funsters took the stage at 9 p.m. as the crowd got bigger, ringing in midnight and keeping the party going until 12:30 a.m.

The evening went smoothly, and a big winner was Kennett Area Community Service, which collected food donations from the crowd as a kind of admission fee. Perhaps more importantly, the buzz of excitement and the big crowd turned Kennett Square into a major hot spot for a night, and brought some much-needed good publicity for the town's many attractions. New visitors could very well turn into repeat visitors for the borough's other events, as well as for its many shops and restaurants.

“Midnight in the Square” is a joint venture of the Kennett Area Restaurant and Merchants Association and The Mushroom Festival.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email [email protected].