What is First Night?

First Night Is
A community celebration of the New Year through the arts. It is a major visual and performing arts festival created by and for the community to welcome the New Year. It is a public celebration that revives the ancient tradition of marking the passage of time with art, ritual and festivity in a present day context.

History
First Night came into existence in Boston in 1976 to bring the neighboring communities of the city together in a joint celebration, while providing the public with an alternative way of ushering in the New Year. The commitment of a group of private citizens to these goals marked the beginning of a new tradition: The First Night Celebration. Since 1980, this concept has inspired many communities from Tampa to Honolulu, to start their own First Night Celebrations.

Mission
First Night's mission is to broaden and deepen the public's appreciation of the visual and pefiorming arts through an innovative, diverse and high quality New Year's Eve program which offers the community a shared cultural experience that is accessible and affordable to all.

Attendance
The First Night Celebrations draw singles, couples, and families of all ages and ethnicities from the local communities as well as visitors. Small communities under 25,000 along with major urban centers with populations over 1,000,000 have implemented the First Night concept successfully, attracting large audiences.

Location
The celebrations typically take place in both indoor and outdoor locations in the center of the municipality. Indoor sites such as churches, public buildings, theaters, concert halls, cultural centers and auditoriums, along with the city's streets, storefront windows, sidewalks and civic plazas become venues for all varieties of the visual, performing and literary arts. The cultural animation of the city sets the stage for innovation and public interaction.

Program
The "Countdown to the New Year" varies from city to city. However, most First Night Celebrations follow a basic format. During the day, artists mount outdoor works, such as ice sculptures and participatory installations for New Year's resolutions. A Children's Festival may take place in the afternoon, followed by a participatory procession of giant puppets, colorful banners, artists and musicians in costume who beckon the members of the public to join in. Evening brings simultaneous and continuous performances of dance, music, mime, storytelling, theatre, poetry, film, video, multi-media and multi-cultural programs. Unexpected places are transformed through an explosion of creative energy. A countdown to midnight and finale fireworks often conclude the communal festivity.

Participation
At First Night, everyone is a participant. Audience members decide their individualized schedules from the complete program. In addition, through hands-on workshops, participants are encouraged to create masks, hats, and/or display painted faces and fantastic costumes. The lines between the observer and the observed are deliberately blurred.

Admission
A First Night button supports the cost of the celebration and provides general admission to events. Admission to most indoor programs is on a first-come first-served basis. The cost of the button, usually under $10, varies from city to city.

Endorsements
"First Night unifies community, celebration and the arts. Every year on New Year's Eve, you bring together people for a shared cultural experience accessible and affordable to all. At events which you sponsor each year, the people come together and bond with the sturdy thread of hope, values, spirit, and community. These are also the materials of a culture. We cannot forget that the strongest reason for an arts presence in our communities has to do with its human necessity, its ancient ubiquitous correlation with the human spirit."
Jane Alexander, Chair
National Endowment for the Arts

"The multicultural events seek to accomplish what is not supposed to be possible in many cities: a drawing together of diverse crowds after dark in downtown areas, reaffirming a community spirit through the celebration of the arts."
New York Times