First Night Northampton 2011

TWELVE HOURS OF FUN FOR A BUTTON?

WELCOME TO FIRST NIGHT NORTHAMPTON 2011

Save the date for Northampton's most beloved signature event. On Friday, December 31st, the Center for the Arts invites you to a city-wide celebration of creative community. For the 26th time, we host a 12-hour New Year's Eve party that's a family-friendly festival of the arts. We look forward to gathering with friends, neighbors and visitors at 20 downtown venues for an incredible array of entertainment presented by a wealth of talented performers and supported by generous local sponsors.

Plan to start the party at noon in the ballroom at the Center for the Arts with amazing feats of wonder from SHOW Circus Studio followed by the biggest and best family promenade ever! Join the OffBeat Drumming Ensemble, Hooping Harmony and a colorful pageant of dancers and giant puppets as we make our way to Pulaski Park and through the streets of downtown. What next? Check out the schedule of performances that feature afternoon delights for young children plus all-day and evening excitement for audiences of all ages.

Thanks to the Northampton Business Improvement District, we continue with a popular tradition—fireworks for the whole family to see at 6:15 p.m. There's plenty of time to find a good spot for viewing the display that lights up the sky from the roof of the city's parking garage. After that, return to a program of music, dancing, and merriment until the cannons fire from the courthouse lawn at 30 minutes before midnight, signaling us to gather at the Hotel Northampton for the customary (and totally unique!) rising of the ball. A single bargain-priced button opens the doors to every event at every venue. They go on sale at a variety of locations throughout the area in early December. You may purchase buttons online here. Buy your buttons early, and check out the companion performance program to plan the perfect day. In the meantime, return to this site frequently for more details about what's to come.

Family Fun on Wednesday, Dec. 29 at the Center for the Arts

Buy your First Night buttons early and enjoy special shows and activities for children.

First Night Logistics

Parking: Dec. 31 is a municipal holiday this year. Parking is free except in the downtown parking garage. Take note that all Smith College lots and the Smith College garage on West Street are free and open to the general public. Please remember that access to and from the E.J. Gare Parking Garage will be controlled from approximately 5:45 to 6:45 p.m. because of the fireworks display. The same is true for the adjacent lots.

Button Sales on Friday, Dec. 31: Best bet (and value!) is to buy your First Night buttons in advance of the event at one of the many vendors listed below or online at www.gazettenet.com/firstnight . On Dec. 31, button sales (cash or check only) are limited to the following locations: TD Bank at 175 Main Street (open until 9 p.m.); Faces; State Street Fruit Store; Hotel Northampton; Cooper’s Corner in Florence; A.J. Hastings in Amherst. They are also for sale at the door of these performance venues: Academy of Music; Center for the Arts; Sweeney Concert Hall and Theatre 14 at Smith College.

At the venues: In order to accommodate our audiences and to make things easier for the volunteers, please cooperate by lining up at entrances in an orderly fashion and exiting the venues after each performance. This also keeps things running on time. Note: Most shows are offered twice, so if you don’t make it into the first one, you’ll probably catch the second.

About the Poster Art

Northampton Center
for the Arts
Penny Burke, Executive Director
About the Center

NCFA Board Officers
Dorothy Nemetz, Chair
David Barclay, Vice-Chair
Debin Bruce, Treasurer
Claudia Lefko, Clerk

17 New South Street, Northampton MA 01060-4703
Telephone (413) 584-7327 Fax (413) 582-9014
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
www.nohoarts.org

WITH THANKS

First Night Northampton is a team effort that requires the energy and cooperation of many remarkable people. For the 26th time, we thank our performance venues, their staffs, and the scores of dedicated volunteers who work cheerfully during the day and night of Dec. 31. We recognize the people at TD Bank in Northampton who host our volunteer headquarters and sell buttons on New Year’s Eve, and we thank our loyal button sales vendors throughout the Valley. We especially appreciate the boost from PeoplesBank, supporters of our Dec. 29 First Night Preview.

We are also deeply grateful to the City of Northampton and to all of the municipal departments that cooperate with us to realize this signature event, among them: the Office of the Mayor; the Northampton Police and Fire Departments; the Department of Public Works; the Parking Division; the Licensing Department; Central Services. We take note of our friends at the Hotel Northampton who orchestrate the ball-raising, the Northampton Chamber of Commerce, and our newest partners at the BID who have made it possible for us to light up the night with fireworks and who keep the downtown sparkling.

Thanks to these individuals: Ernie Alleva, David Barclay, Marsha Bessette, Dian Behringer, Maddy Blanchette, Dave Boutilier, Sam Braudis, Debin Bruce, Ellen Clegg, Sue Dadmun, Steve Davis, Brooke Dyer, Mac Everett, Eon Fontes-May, Piper Foreso, Mansour Ghalibaf, Nancy Goldstein, Debra J’Anthony, Claudia Lefko, Lisa Leizman, Bill Letendre, Dorothy Nemetz, Alexis Neubert, Amanda Schreyer, Ann Shanahan, Debbie Shumway, Dustin Sleight, Art Steele, Craig Stevens, Bud Stockwell, Owen Strossi, Gloria Tuperkeizsis, Sue Wilson, Dan Yacuzzo.

Finally, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to the talented performers of the Valley who shine on stage. And in remembrance, we thank another shining star: Doug Kohl, a fine friend of the arts and our community.

FIRST NIGHT NORTHAMPTON OFFICIAL WEBSITE