Of all the things you might want to do on New Year's Eve, you can probably do them all at First Night St. Petersburg. Unless staying at home with a bottle of Korbel and watching Dick Clark do the ball-drop countdown is one of them. First Night is hands-on, entertainment-intensive and stroll-ful. Founded in 1976 at Boston's bicentennial, the night is an alternative to traditional New Year's celebrations. The main objectives are to unite the community through music, visual and performing arts. First Night St. Petersburg started in 1993, led by a group of citizens interested in celebrating the many performing and visual arts groups and individuals in our community, as well as the artist in each of us. So if you're still not sure what you want to do on New Year's Eve, check out the list of events below before you buy that bottle of Korbel.
First Night Entertainment
The Pier (810 Second Ave. N.)
6:30-8 p.m. — Rasta Pasta (steel drums)
7-11 p.m. — Arts Demonstrations
8:30-11:30 p.m. — Tyger Hanley (reggae, soca, jazz)
First Presbyterian (701 Beach Drive N.E.)
5:45-6:45 p.m. — Jazz Vespers (Bob Reed & Friends)
7:30-9:30 p.m. Dundu Dole Urban Ballet (West African drumming and dance)
The Palladium (253 Fifth Ave. N.)
7-7:40 p.m. — Chamber Ballet
8-8:45 p.m. — Tampa Gay Men's Chorus
9-9:30 p.m. — The Ballet Society (Nutcracker selections)
First Methodist (212 Third St. N.)
7-7:45 p.m. — Organ Concert
7:30-8:15 p.m. — Kwanzaa Ritual (songs, spirituals, poetry)
8-8:45 p.m. — Tampa Bay Mass Choir
8:30-9:15 p.m., 9:45-10:30 p.m. — Uncle Bends: A Home-cooked Negro Narrative
9:15-9:45 p.m. — The Alumni Singers
10-10:30 p.m. — First Light (contemporary music)
Williams Park (Second Avenue & Third Street)
9-9:20 p.m., 10-10:20 p.m., 11-11:20 p.m. — Percussion Extravaganza: Lakewood High School
St. Peter's (140 Fourth St. N.)
7-11:30 p.m. — Winter Sun Festival (classic chamber music)
8-8:30 p.m., 9:30-10 p.m., 10:15-10:45 p.m. — Theater for Kids of All Ages
7:15-7:45 p.m., 8:45-9:15 p.m. — Baroque recorder music
The Sunshine Center (330 Fifth St. N.)
8-8:30 p.m., 9:30-10 p.m., 11-11:30 p.m. — Crabgrass Cowboys (guitar, banjo and bass)
7:15-7:45 p.m., 8:45-9:15 p.m., 10:15-10:45 p.m. — 97th Regimental String Band
Mirror Lake Library (280 Fifth St. N.)
7:30-8 p.m., 8:30-9 p.m., 9:30-10 p.m., 10:30-11 p.m. — Peace River Tale Spinners (humorous stories and folk tales)
The Arts Center (719 Central Ave.)
6-8:30 p.m. — First Kids (mask and clock making)
6-6:30 p.m., 7-7:30 p.m., 8-8:30 p.m. — Razzmatazz (ventriloquism, magic and juggling)
6-8:30 p.m. — Great Explorations Activities
6-8:30 p.m. — Musical Petting Zoo
6-8:30 p.m. — Furniture Painting
6:30-7:10 p.m., 7:30-8:10 p.m. — Whimsical Notions Theater (interactive theater)
American Stage (211 Third St. S.)
7-8:30 p.m., 9-10:30 p.m. — 'Twas the Night Before Christmas
City Services Lobby (1 Fourth St. N.)
7 p.m.-midnight — Three Point Turn (dramatic short film, every half hour)
Bank of America (Central and Second Street)
7-11 p.m. — The Birthday Project (receive a free work of art for your 2002 birthday)
7-11 p.m. — Giant Puppets
7-11 p.m. — St. Petersburg's Longest Poem (add to this community poem)
7-10 p.m. — Silent Auction (five works of art on auction to benefit the Red Cross)
Central Avenue (between Second and Third streets)
7:45-11:15 p.m. — Authentic American Bluegrass (featuring Flatland and Carl Wade and Something Special)
Palais Royale (1435 Second St. N.)
7-11 p.m. — Addressing the New Year (a hands-on mail art experience)
7-11 p.m. — First Night of Issue Art by Steve Smith
The Plaza (Second Avenue North and Third Street)
7-7:45 p.m. — Florida Art School (Broadway song and dance)
8:30-9:30 p.m., 10-11 p.m. — Zoe Speaks (Appalachian music, clogging, stories)
Museum of Fine Arts (255 Beach Drive N.E.)
8:30-11:30 p.m. — The Stan Hunter Jazz Trio
8-8:15 p.m., 9-9:15 p.m. — St. Petersburg High Devilettes
South Straub Park (Beach Drive)
6 p.m.-midnight — The Labyrinth (ponder your resolutions as you walk the pathway)
6 p.m.-midnight — Street Furniture Stroll
6 p.m.-midnight — Raku Firing (artist Dan Meisner has 500 clay figures for folks to fire)
6 p.m.-midnight — Resolutions for America (write your resolutions on a red, white or blue ribbon and weave it to giant flags sponsored by GNC)
Museum of History (335 Second Ave. N.)
8-8:30 p.m., 9:45-10:15 p.m., 11:20 p.m.-11:45 p.m. — Flamenco (classical guitar accompanies dance)
Spa Beach Pier Approach (Second Avenue N.E.)
7 p.m.-midnight — Teen Party
North Straub Park (Beach drive)
8 p.m.-midnight — Groupo Caribe (Latin rhythms)
6:30 p.m.-midnight — First Olympics (obstacle course)
First Night Finale The finale includes First Fireworks, a special early fireworks show for the kids held at 9 p.m. on Spa Beach. First Night Finale, a procession of giant puppets and percussion begins at 11:30 p.m. from Williams Park to the Finale Stage on the waterfront. There you can dance to the Latin rhythms of Groupo Caribe and watch a spectacular fireworks show at midnight.
Parking, etc. All downtown parking garages are open and street parking is available, but wear your walking shoes, because First Night encompasses several downtown blocks. All downtown restaurants are also open and food vendors are in North and South Straub parks, and Williams Park. First Night goes on rain or shine, as most performing sites are indoors. So wear layers or dress accordingly.
First Night takes place on New Year's Eve from 6:30 to Midnight. Admission button costs $8 for adults ($10 at the event), $5 for children 6-12, free for children 5 years and under. The admission button gives you unlimited admission to 23 venues of performances and activities. For more information, visit: www.stpete.org/firstnight, or call 727-823-8906.
This article appears in Dec 27, 2001 – Jan 2, 2002.