Warmer Weather to Greet Visitors for First Night State College

State College will see its warmest weather in at least a couple weeks this holiday weekend, with forecast highs of 44 and 48 degrees for Friday and Saturday, respectively, according to AccuWeather.com.

The low temperature is not expected to dip below the freezing mark on either day, forecasts show.

That relative heat could be good news for First Night State College, the region’s nonprofit New Year’s Eve celebration in the downtown.

‘I think, in general, warm weather brings out people,’ said First Night Executive Director Rick Bryant. ‘It’s been cold for a few days. People get cabin fever.’

Typically, First Night draws an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 visitors, Bryant said.

The temperatures this year may not help preserve the event’s trademark ice sculptures — close to 90 of them this year. But the biggest sculptures — the five or six giant walls carved on the 100 block of South Allen Street starting Thursday — will have to be toppled by 6 p.m. Saturday, anyway, Bryant said. (Toppling them allows the street to reopen for normal downtown traffic.)

Should the weather destabilize the big sculptures too much, Bryant said, they may need to be destroyed sooner. 

Another highlight of the downtown ice displays, the traditional Russian ice slide in Sidney Friedman Park, began to take shape Wednesday. (If you haven’t seen it: It’s a large children’s slide made entirely of ice.)

More than 80 other ice sculptures — the smaller, single-block variety — are scattered throughout the downtown, mostly in front of local businesses.

First Night, planned with a family-friendly, artistic flair, also features about 30 performing-arts events at venues throughout downtown State College. Entertainers this year will bring bluegrass, classical, jazz, folk and other music.

A visit from reindeer, carriage rides, an interactive puppet procession, art workshops, resolution sculptures and a resolution run also distinguish First Night. Food vendors will be on hand, as well. A more complete rundown of First Night details is posted on the StateCollege.com First Night page.

Also on New Year’s Eve, the public will have a chance to look inside the Discovery Space museum’s planned facility on West Foster Avenue. Specifics are noted in this earlier report.

Related coverage

• First Night Events to Affect State College Traffic (Dec. 30, 2010)
  

• First Night State College to Kick off New Year with Alcohol-Free Events (Dec. 22, 2010)