Government's enquiry as to whether or not it would be willing to host some sort of function to mark what is popularly known as the new Millennium, they knew one thing for certain: Bermudians love to party -- any time, anywhere, and the longer and bigger the party the better they like it.

Not wishing to clash with events in Dockyard and St. George's on New Year's eve, they settled on hosting what promises to be the biggest freebie bash Bermuda has ever seen on January 1.

As with all such concepts however, the proposed celebration quickly took on a life of its own and outgrew the collective abilities of the City fathers to bring to fruition a first-class event.

Thus, they hired professional event producer Mrs. Geneva Humdy-Woodley and her team (Jannell Dill, Buddy Fleming, Dale Fox and Crystal Ball) to mastermind the myriad details it takes to make an event of this magnitude a success, while the Corporation appointed a Millennium committee, chaired by Common Councillor Mr. Reginald Minors, to work with her.

Now, after months of planning, the ten-hour extravaganza promises to be something no-one will ever forget. Billed as "fun for all the family'', its line-up includes everything from art displays to sports demonstrations and contests, block parties, a parade, fireworks, food stalls, and five hours of non-stop entertainment by local musicians, singers and dancers.

"The Corporation decided it was going to do something very special and unique, and something that Bermudians would look back on as one of the greatest celebrations we have ever had,'' Mr. Minors explains.

Certainly if the line-up of activities is anything to go by, the Millenniafest will not be forgotten in a hurry.

Recognising that celebrants will need time to recover from the revelries and excesses of the night before, Hamilton's New Year's Day programme kicks off at 2 p.m. with no less than six events taking place simultaneously on various City streets, which will be closed for the duration.

"We want people to be moving from one area to the next, and get a good flow going in the City the whole day,'' Mr. Minors explains.

Lower Reid Street between Burnaby and Queen will be the scene of a Rock the Block party for children, and chairs and tables will be placed in the area around the traffic island at the top of Queen Street where people can sit and enjoy the delights of the many food stalls filling Wesley and West Victoria Streets.

Burnaby Street will be the scene of another block party -- this time for adults of all ages, where DJ Malcolm (Lethal Weapon) Smith will mix the sounds for dancing in the street.

"The key here is that we want all of the people of Bermuda to become involved,'' Mr. Minors says. "Between disco sets, the pros will demonstrate various dances, and then we want the public to join in. There will be a total variety of music -- country and western, soca, you name it, we'll have it.

Hopefully, everybody will have something to enjoy, and we are excited about that.'' Queen Street between Lower Reid and Church will be given over to a wide variety of live entertainment from a big stage erected in front of the Library, while Front Street from Queen to Albuoys Point will be devoted to the arts.

In addition to an exhibition of art and glass blowing, artists will be working on a giant mural, which members of the public will be invited to assist with.

Elsewhere on Hamilton's premier thoroughfare, games, athletic demonstrations, one-minute massages and blood pressure testing, as well as a $2000 basketball shoot-off, and a prize-winning cricket bowl-off will keep things lively.

At 5 p.m. all activity on Front Street will cease to allow spectators to watch the Sparkling Moonlight Parade make its way from the Barr's Park area to the junction with King Street.

And should you wonder how "sparkling moonlight'' will be achieved, Mrs.

Humdy-Woodley explains: "This is the first time such an event has been seen in Bermuda. Our intention is to turn off all the lights on Front Street and then relight it with black lighting to give it a special glow. "All of the parade participants will be wearing black, with all sorts of designs painted on them by the elves in our workshop, using paint that glows in the dark.

"We have enlisted some of Bermuda's top artists to help with the project: Lynn Morrell, Kindra Ezekiel, Helen Daniel and Gail Palacio,'' Mrs.

Humdy-Woodley continued. "Isobel Correia will be creating costumes and pieces of art that will be moving through the parade.'' Another innovation will be the inclusion of giant balloons, similar to those seen in major US parades, which will be carried along by humans. "Fly guys'' -- fabric figures and shapes held aloft by air machines -- will also be placed at activity locations around the City to add to the festive air.

A spectacular fireworks display from White's Island will follow the parade, before the five-hour non-stop Salute to the Stars of the Century concert begins at City Hall car park, featuring more than 30 Bermudian entertainers.

"They will be playing tunes going all the way back to the Glen Miller days, and coming up to the present day,'' Mr. Minors explains. "There will be gospel, jazz, country and western -- the whole nine yards.'' Technical director for this segment is Jonathan Trott of Spanish Town Productions, while Kingsley Swan is Musical Director and Robert Edwards assistant Musical Director. Leroy Simmons, Love Alive Ministries will produce the gospel section.

"The entire Millenniafest is going to be very special, very unique, and I think all of Bermuda should be proud and pleased that we are going to do this for them,'' Mr. Minors says. "Best of all, everything is free, including parking, but not the food and drink.'' While the event may be free to the public, it is very expensive to stage, and while the Corporation of Hamilton in conjunction with the Department of Tourism are hosting the event, sponsorship for every segment has come from the merchant and business communities.

These include the Argus group of companies, Belco, BTC, Butterfield & Vallis, The MarketPlace group of companies, ACE Bermuda Ltd., the Corporation of Hamilton, Officetech and Chevron International.

Parking and traffic restrictions will apply, and should the unthinkable happen, the rain date is January 2.

"We are a blessed people in this country, and if the weather stays like it is now we are going to be in great shape,'' a clearly-enthused Mr. Minors promises.