ROCKPORT — The mix of celebratory fireworks over Rockport Harbor Dec. 31, just as the clock struck 6 p.m., was creative and imaginative, drawing laughter and roars of approval from a large crowd that had assembled in spots alll over Rockport Village to watch.

The event was Holiday on the Harbor, a now annual low-key gathering that has shifted from early in December to New Year’s Eve. It was a good move this year, for the weather was balmy, and spirits were high at Marine Park, where fires were burning late in the afternoon, and vendors set up their stands with pizza and drinks. Volunteers were busy lighting candles in waxed white paper bags that lined paths, and on the barge in the inner harbor, more volunteers arranged the cases of fireworks that they would soon be lighting.

Rockport Marine and Legacy Rockport funded the fireworks, with a small group of local citizens traveling down to Wiscasset in annual excursion to purchase the boxes of explosives from Big Al just a few days after Christmas.

Onlookers poured into Rockport Village, grabbing whatever parking space they could find along the streets and then choosing their preferred perch from points around the harbor, or up on the hills on porches and lawns.

The float sat at a mooring in the inner harbor, and lobster boats were temporarily relocated to other moorings, out of harms way.

It was a grand show to welcome 2023, as the colorful explosions dipped and weaved and aimed for the stars, sending out 2022 on a high note. Later in evening, New Year’s revelers danced the night away at the Rockport Opera House with The Right Track band.