Happy Holidays from Matt Dibrindisi Entertainment
December 24th, 2024
Dear Friends and Family,
2024 has been a very challenging year for me as I’m sure it’s been for you. The further I move into adulthood, the more I realize that not everything is wonderful; I believe it would be irresponsible to say that the world is entirely a wonderful place when so many atrocities happen and so much vile hatred spreads every day, every minute. However, there is much wonderfulness to be created, by all of us; that's what we strive for and in keeping with that idea, this year was an exciting year of firsts for Matt Dibrindisi Entertainment.
At the top of the list was the debut of our Dark of Fright Halloween Party at long last. DOF is something my family and I have been working on for seven years with four backyard prototypes; our goal was always to go public and finally seeing the public react to our attractions at Northampton Center for the Arts at 33 Hawley was a dream come true. It’s always wonderful to see Pepperoni make new friends.
2024 was also the first year we publicly celebrated Pepperoni’s birthday at his Birthday Spellabration at A2Z Science and Learning Toy Store. We look forward to many more happy birthdays to come.
This year also marked our very first time in Northampton Neighbors’ Doozy Do Parade and our third appearance in the Florence Holiday Parade! Riding in the back of a truck alongside Pepperoni is always a delight, watching him turn heads and light up kids’ faces.
Once again, thanking the people we collaborated with this year-
Thank you to Devon, Andre and the amazing staff at A2Z Science and Learning Toy Store for co-hosting Pepperoni’s Birthday Spellabration and another year of Craftsy Colorween and to the incredible A2Z Yo-Yo Team and Joe Goldin for performing at Dark of Fright! You made the night electric.
Speaking of Dark of Fright, thanks also to Emily Bourque at 93.9 The River WRSI for my first-ever radio interview ahead of DOF and letting me talk a little about how the event was formed. I wasn’t that nervous to begin with, but you made it so much better (having Pepperoni there also helped…)
A huge thank you to Alysia at Carefree Cakery and her wonderful staff for creating cupcakes for both Pepperoni’s Birthday Spellabration and Dark of Fright. You definitely made our events sweeter!
Thanks also to the Florence Civic and Business Association for allowing us to march in our third Florence Holiday Parade and to Northampton Neighbors for letting us participate in our very first Doozy Do Parade.
Massive thanks to Justin Greenly for amazing new artwork for Dark of Fright and to Ashley, Amanda and the wonderful team at CopyCat for printing all our event signage, banners and stickers! We couldn’t have done any of this without you!
My sincerest thanks to someone we don’t mention an awful lot- voice actor and friend of Pepperoni Chris Nichter, who I’ve had the pleasure of working with for six years. You are the key to so much of this and you are what makes it all special.
A final thanks to the people at Cowan Costumes, who closed their doors after 38 years earlier this year. Their amazing team helped realize Pepperoni's unique wardrobe and get him event-ready. It will always have been an honor to be one of their customers.
That being said, here’s hoping your holidays are filled with love and light, no matter how this season feels for you. 2025 will mark Matt Dibrindisi Entertainment’s fifth anniversary and we’ve been working hard on so many exciting ways to celebrate. However, as my experiences with depression and burnout have taught me, I keep no promises. Regardless, I hope we can see you there.
See you then.
Warmest regards,
Matt Dibrindisi
Principal Creative at Matt Dibrindisi Entertainment