The Roaring ‘20s are in full swing, and what better way to celebrate than doing the Charleston? And the hoedown. And the Cuban shuffle. And the Macarena. And the twist. Wareham kids did all these dances and more, under the direction of the energetic DJ Ooch, at the Wareham Free Library’s Noon Year’s Eve celebration on Saturday, Dec. 31.

For those too young to stay awake until midnight, Noon Year’s Eve offered a chance to ring in 2023 without disrupting bedtime. Kids played games, did arts and crafts and wrote their wishes for the new year on star-shaped pieces of paper.

“Show me a cool pose!” DJ Ooch exhorted his young audience. “Yeah, breathe… Breeeeeeathe… I love your breathing. Here we go. To the left! To the right! To the front! Criss-cross! One, two, three, punch it out! Jump! Jump! Jump! Aww, yeah…”

Ooch’s real name is Brett Outchcunis, and while he was born in Onset, his job as a children’s entertainer makes him a “man of many states.” 

“I generally have a lot of energy,” Outchcunis said, “I’m lucky in that sense. I store up my energy before I do a show, and then I take a nice big nap after. Oh, and coffee.”

Thanks to Outchcunis, blaring dance music and the sound of party horns filled the Library meeting room.

“People say the Library is supposed to be quiet,” said librarian Melissa Dyer, who had a sticker of a Minion on her right cheek. “I say, nah, the Library is where you be social! It’s the center of the community.”

Outchcunis asked the kids to give their parents a high-five and tell them that it was okay for them to dance, too.

“I think it’s important to want to be with the kids,” he said. “That’s number one. Number two, I would say, is to try to lose your inhibitions when you’re around kids. You want to be willing to let it go, jump around, laugh, because kids can be really funny.”

“You have to be willing to make a fool of yourself,” Dyer added.

“You have to leave your ego at the door,” Outchcunis said. “It doesn’t hurt to be 5-foot-6, either.”

At 11:59 a.m., Outchcunis led the kids in a countdown to the “Noon Year.”

When noon struck, the kids popped balloons, stomped on bubble wrap and took turns battering a piñata. 10-year-old Kyle Holmes was the one to break it open, and when he did, the mad scramble that ensued left the floor barren of candy within minutes.