With Puppets & Painting & Purpose, New Haven Rings In 2026

Jim Napolitano, who performs shadow puppetry across Connecticut. Lucy Gellman Photos.

The melodious Cock-a-doodle-doo! of a rooster rang through New Haven City Hall, as a ruffled, spirited bird appeared in miniature form, and puppeteer Jim Napolitano raised his voice to the rafters. On one side, the bird crowed beneath an emerald-colored apple tree, its lush branches spreading out to fill the entire frame. On the other, Napolitano reached for a cutout of a pig, his face bathed in the gold glow of a light box. As the pig sauntered towards the tree, two dozen pint sized viewers marveled at the sight, mesmerized. 

Last Thursday, Napolitano was among dozens of artists, makers, and multigenerational attendees at the second annual "New Year New Haven," a celebration of 2026 from the Proprietors of the New Haven Green and Angel Dahfay, manager of Public Programs & Activation at the New Haven Green. Moved entirely to the first floor of City Hall due to the bone-chilling cold outside, the afternoon featured face painting, crafting stations, hot cocoa, a magic show and shadow puppets, as friends and families wished for a smooth and joyful year ahead. 

Top: Angel Dahfay, manager of Public Programs & Activation at the New Haven Green, who said that another goal for this year is to travel more as a way to grow and learn. Bottom: Face painting. 

"This feels great! I'm excited to be here," Dahfay said as people trickled into City Hall, posing by gold balloons and streamers that announced the New Year. Across the street, a giant slide and carousel sat mostly empty, as food trucks including Cool Runnings kept the plates coming and faint carnival music piped over the snow-covered grass. "We had to pivot and bring everything inside, but a lot of people showed up."

In the new year, her goal "is to continue putting on events for the community that bring everybody together," Dahfay added. "Honestly, that's really it. That's what I love to do." 

Thursday's felt like a good start.  Across the first floor atrium of City Hall—which from the outside, looks like architect Henry Austin's wildest dream of a real-life gingerbread house—those words took flight. Beyond the building's sweeping staircase and glittering Christmas tree, music floated over the carpet and bumped up against closed office doors, the sound sweet and propulsive enough to forget that there was work the next day. 

Even in the wan, fluorescent light of a municipal building, DJ Too Much (a.k.a. Loren Jefferson, who also runs WineDown CT with Thema Haida) conjured a festive vibe, watching as kids began to dance and artists, from face painters to photographers impromptu creatives, fanned out at the tables around her. On the mic, emcee Frank Brady began to warm up the crowd (sometimes literally, as attendees peeled off down jackets, scarves, hats, and mittens), walking the length of the floor. Every so often, he edged into a photo fêting the new year, or stopped for a selfie and a hug with a friend he hadn't seen in too long. 

Kevin Lyons: "The worst of my last years? I want that to be nonexistent."

Holding a small, half-painted sheet of paper in his hands, New Havener Kevin Lyons soaked in the potential of a new year, grateful for the chance to reflect on the days and weeks that sprawled out in front of him. While Lyons does screenprinting professionally and dabbles in photography, he said that Thursday marked his first time making something for fun. As he painted, an abstract sunrise took shape, with bands of color that stretched across the small frame.

Like a new year, "the beauty of painting is the fact that it is a blank canvas, and you can paint it the way you want to," he said as he added a thick line of black paint to the work. "Like, I don't even know what I'm doing right now, but I like what I'm doing."

His first resolution? "To be better than what I was last year," he said. "Any aspect, even if I was happy with what I was last year, I want that to be the foundation of what this year's gonna be. The worst of my last years? I want that to be nonexistent."

As she wound down her set, Jefferson said she's also thinking about how this year can be different—particularly after months of political and social upheaval that sometimes felt dystopian ("I mean, every day, waking up was scary," she said. "It felt a little like Halloween every day."). As an artist and an entrepreneur, she's trying "to not be scared to create," whatever the climate around her.

Top: Loren Jefferson, a.k.a. DJ Too Much. Bottom: The "Super Slide" with a few brave participants before it became unbearably cold. 

She's already well on her way to conjuring some serious joy for 2026. On New Year's Eve, Jefferson was back behind the DJ booth, spinning a set at Nolo that had her playing in the new year surrounded by people ready to shake off the previous 12 months. In the lead up to January, she's been thinking about how to both stretch and pool resources with other artists, to ensure cultural survival and abundance in a time of scarcity. She's also challenged herself to keep learning as an artist, she said. 

"Sometimes we stop ourselves from creating what our dream is because we don't have the money, or we don't have the resources," she said. "Creating and figuring it out either way, it's like, don't be scared to dream big. Continue to build and use community to build dreams, and find someone in community who can support you. How do we build together?" 

Last year, "You know, I shuddered a lot, I learned a lot, and sometimes you have to go through a year of learning to get to a year of growth and moving forward."

Top:  Etana Solomon and Aubrey Black. Bottom: Jim Napolitano, who performs shadow puppetry across Connecticut, mesmerizes the audience. 

Across the atrium, Etana Solomon and her 4-year-old niece, Aubrey Black (who would like readers to know that she is, in fact, almost five), headed towards a still-bright Christmas tree, its ornaments gleaming in red and silver as lights twinkled through the branches.

Aubrey, delighted to spend time with her cool aunt, showed off the pink, white and yellow horn that had appeared on her forehead, a vibrant twist of color that felt just right for the new year. To complete the look, two pointy black ears, each filled with a dusting of bright color, sprouted just above her eyebrows.

Solomon, who grew up in New Haven and now works as a social impact strategist (she and her mother, Kathleen Camp, are the subjects of the new documentary A Good Run: Finding Peace With Parkinson's), said she was excited for the event, and a new year filled with creative adventures, like pottery classes at Creative Arts Workshop that she recently signed up for. As a kid, she always found "so much to do" in New Haven—but nothing quite like Thursday's festivities. 

"There aren't always a lot of things that are accessible and cater to young families and stuff like that," she said. "It's just nice for the New Haven Green to put something on like this and support families coming out and enjoying the holiday."  

"What's been your favorite part?" Solomon asked Aubrey, checking the time that remained until the puppet show was set to begin. There were 11 minutes to go, and Napolitano had all but finished setting up by the city's Office of Vital Statistics. Aubrey didn't miss a beat.

"You!" she cheered, beaming as she launched herself into her aunt's arms. "And going for hot chocolate."