Gorham’s own violin maker, musician Don Roy, right, and his wife, Cindy, will perform at New Year Gorham celebration. Contributed / Photo by Molly Haley

Organizers say the annual New Year Gorham celebration is shaping up as one of the best.

“We’ve got lots of new attractions and many of the crowd favorites,” event founder Virginia Wilder Cross said last week in an email to the American Journal. “Even though we’re featuring lots of extraordinary talent, I think the blockbuster will be our grand finale laser light show.”

The New Year’s Eve program with something for everyone is expected to attract many showgoers from surrounding communities. The majority of performances and demonstrations are at Gorham High School, 41 Morrill Ave., and the nearby Shaw Gym at the municipal center, 75 South St.

The lineup of activities and shows on Tuesday, Dec. 31, kicks off 2-4 p.m. with indoor ice skating at the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham campus.

The Don Roy Trio of Gorham, with Don on the fiddle and his wife, Cindy, playing piano, will perform on the stage at 4:30 p.m. in the auditorium at Gorham High School. An annual favorite, the trio, a National Endowment for the Arts recipient, features Acadian music and has performed internationally.

The Gorham Community Chorus, directed by John Rimkunas, will sing at 5 p.m.; Gorham High School Chamber Singers, 5:30 p.m.; Children’s Museum and Theater of Maine will present the stage play “Elephant & Piggie’s ‘We Are In a Play,'” 6-6:55 p.m.; and Running with Scissors improv comedy, 7-7:30; Elvis impersonator, 7:30-8 p.m.; and the Tardy Bros. juggling workshop, 8-8:50 p.m., at the high school gym.

Shows at Shaw Gym, geared toward families with young children, include Mad Science at 3 and 5 p.m., and the Children’s Museum and Theater of Maine will show a life-size whale at 3 and 4 p.m.

“The kids will have a chance to see how big a whale is and they will learn about a whale’s life,” Wilder Cross said. “We are really excited about a new program for the kids.”

It’s followed by Abracadabra Magic from 4 to 6 p.m. and a “glow room dance” at 4:30, 5 and 5:30 p.m.

The glow dance party is for middle school-aged kids to dance in a dark room decorated with neon glow tape to make things brighter with help of a black light. “They will wear headsets while they dance to the music only they can hear – music they have chosen to dance to from one of the three channels on each headset,” Wilder Cross said.

New Year revelers won’t go hungry with snacks available 3-5 p.m. at Shaw Gym and the New Year Gorham Cafe from 4:30 to 7 p.m. at the high school cafeteria, hosted by the Northern Force Robotics team.

The New Year highlight is a laser light show at 9 p.m. inside the high school gym that replaces the fireworks outside in past years when weather  and noise have been  factors. “The New Year Gorham Committee is especially pleased to conclude this year’s celebration with an exciting laser light show set to music,”  Tom Hasbrouck, New Year Gorham coordinator, said in a press release.

The fireworks were canceled some years because of cold, fog or high winds. In one of the early years of the celebration, wind chill plummeted to 40 degrees below zero. It was so cold a band played “Auld Lang Syne” sitting inside a bus. The switch to a light show was respectful of neighbors with pets, and to those who find firework explosions to be uncomfortable, often including veterans.

Admission after Christmas is $7 per person at the door, with under age 2 free. To pre-pay online, go to  gorhamme.myrec.com/info. A host of generous donors help defray the price of admission.

For a complete schedule, go to gorham-me.org/new-year-gorham.