ORANGE — Ice sculptures are coming back to Starry Starry Night a year after lack of funds meant they couldn’t be ordered in time.

Starry Starry Night Committee Chair Crystal Parent said there was enough money in the budget this year to order Summit Ice blocks that Mark Bosworth and Michael Legassey will chisel into whimsical designs as part of Orange’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza that dates back more than 25 years. The sculptures will be part of an event with more venue locations and performers than any of its previous iterations.

“It’s just a really great sense of community,” Parent said. “It’s a beautiful event, and it brings family together and brings friends together.”

The event that typically consists of 12 performers will this year feature 16, in seven locations. The entertainment ranges from music to magic to puppetry. A new offering in a new venue will be poetry readings led by local poet Aurynanya at the Revival Wheeler Mansion, the only Gilded Age mansion in the North Quabbin region. The family-friendly readings are scheduled for 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Also performing at the Revival Wheeler Mansion will be professional storyteller Todd Goodwin, who is gearing up for his second Starry Starry Night, having first performed there five or six years ago.

“I’m a campfire storyteller,” he said. “We start with gathering around a mid-winter’s fire. I tell a few bad jokes and I play the harmonica. It’s what I would call a campfire experience.”

Goodwin said his performances are reminiscent of a time when families used to convene around fireplaces to talk and bond.

The Fitchburg resident has a lengthy list of stories, as well as some sing-alongs, in his arsenal and he said he plans to wait to see the age of his audiences before choosing which tales to tell. He is scheduled to perform at 6 and 8 p.m., with shows lasting 45 to 55 minutes apiece. One newer story he will share, “Santa Sightings,” is about how he gets mistaken for a man portraying Santa Claus because “I have a beautiful white beard and big-enough belly.”

Starry Starry Night will also feature nine musical acts at Orange Town Hall, the United Methodist Church, the First Universalist Church, Mission Covenant Church and the Central Congregational Church. The full schedule is available at starrystarrynight.org/performers.

This year’s event, the second one to return to its original in-person format following the COVID-19 pandemic, will also be a swan song of sorts for Parent, who is stepping down from the organizing committee. Her new co-chairs, Deborah Allain-Thomas and Sharon Hatstat, will take the reins after this event.

“I just have so much going on in life,” Parent explained. “I’m really excited that we have people willing to step up and continue the Starry Starry Night tradition.”

Parent said this year she is particularly looking forward to the fireworks display put on by American Thunder Fireworks, a Reading company recruited for its first Starry Starry Night event.

Parent also mentioned the Parade of Stars will take off from Town Hall at about 10 p.m. to head to Memorial Park in time to see the fireworks. The ice sculptures will be displayed at Memorial Park, too.

Also, Starry Starry Night is when the Orange Merchants Group will announce the winner of its sixth annual lamppost-decorating contest. People can vote for their favorite lampposts at bit.ly/4aqmWB5. Voting concludes on Dec. 29.

Reach Domenic Poli at: dpoli@recorder.com or 413-930-4120.