STATE COLLEGE — Downtown State College will once again play host to the biggest New Year’s Eve party in Central Pennsylvania.
This is the 24th year for First Night State College, the popular family-friendly event that opens at noon Dec. 31 with performances at various downtown venues.
To ring in 2018, the downtown will be a scene filled with music, art, ice sculptures, comedy and tons of other activities from early afternoon on New Year’s Eve day until the clock strikes midnight.
According to Rick Bryant, executive director, First Night buttons provide partygoers entry into all event activities, including ice skating at Pegula Ice Arena, complete with free skate rental. Bryant said the only exception is that a carriage ride through town is a button, plus $5. An added bonus of the First Night button is that it allows basketball fans to be admitted for only $6 to the Lady Lion Big 10 home opener against Maryland at 2 p.m. at the Bryce Jordan Center.
Bryant said First Night buttons cost only $10, which is a great value for the amount of activities that can be enjoyed with their purchase.
“Think about it this way: If you go get a coffee every day, you’re spending just as much as you would on a button that gets you into 30 performances,” Bryant said.
He added that buttons are being sold all over State College. They can be purchased at every performance venue, in addition to Schlow Library, the Corner Room and Appalachian Outdoors, to name just a few different places. For a full listing and map of locations to purchase First Night buttons, visit https://firstnightstatecollege.com, Bryant said, adding they make great holiday gifts.
Bryant encouraged anyone who is considering attending First Night festivities to go ahead and buy a button to ensure that people are able to take advantage of all the fun the night has to offer.
“Even if you go around town and look at all the sculptures and the free stuff, it’s helpful to just buy a button. Spending the $10 for a button helps us continue with this tradition. It takes a lot of money to put on a party for the town,” Bryant said.
Ice sculptures, performances, workshops, ice skating, carriage rides and a 5K run are all part of the New Year’s tradition of First Night State College. The original First Night, held Dec. 31, 1994, launched a holiday event that people look forward to each and every year, Bryant said.
“Since 1994, it certainly has grown. We’ve added some things and we’ve taken things away, based on how much town has changed,” said Bryant, who has been executive director since 1999, but was a First Night volunteer before taking the position.
He added that the on the original First Night, the municipal building wasn’t at its current location — it was on Fraser Street at that time.
However, he said the basic idea of offering a family-friendly event for the community to ring in the New Year, and providing performances in public buildings, has continued since First Night began in 1994 and remains at the heart of the New Year’s Eve tradition.
One new feature added to this year’s event is a new resolution sculpture, he said. The New Year’s theme of out with the old and in with the new takes shape at First Night in the form of resolution sculptures. These sculptures, Bryant said, are exhibits where people can publicly declare what they hope to improve or change or accomplish in the coming year.
Resolution sculptures and exhibits, many interactive, include “The Burning Man,” “Wall to Wall, “First Bells,” “Edison’s Clothesline,” “Gravity Powered Fortune Matrix,” “Wheels of Fate,” “The First Night Phoenix” and “The Bucket List,” located at various sites downtown.
“It’s interesting to see how positive people are on the resolution sculptures,” Bryant said. “People say, ‘I’m gonna be more awesome,’ or ‘I want to run a marathon,’ or ‘I want to find more joy,’ and they say these great things in many different ways and in many different languages,” he said.
Another feature added this year is a luminaria lighting from 6 to 8 p.m. to express messages of peace, hope, justice and equality at a new space in State College, the Martin Luther King Jr. Plaza, located at South Fraser Street between West College Avenue and West Beaver Avenue. Additionally, those attending First Night will be able to view an exhibit on First Night Grand Procession puppets by local artist Phyllis Kipp, on display at the Art Alliance Gallery downtown.
The Grand Procession is a celebratory kickoff to the New Year, featuring large papier mache puppets carried by anyone who wants to join in on the fun. The Grand Procession line forms in the Education Room at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church on Foster Avenue at 6 p.m. Any and all who want to march through the streets of downtown to start off the New Year in a grand fashion can show up at that time and pick out a puppet. Local drummers are also invited to join in procession.
Those attending First Night this year will also be able to see some comedy acts, directly from the New York City comedy scene. According to Bryant, Russell Poole performs comedy in New York City, but his roots are in Central Pennsylvania.
“He recruited colleagues to perform with him at First Night. Each will do about 15 minutes. We haven’t had stand-up comedy before, but rest assured, it will be family-friendly. There is a lot to joke about in today’s world,” Bryant said.
In addition to ice sculpture displays, performances, ice skating and the array of other festivities, another component of First Night is the 5K Resolution Run. Starting at 6:30 p.m., it begins and ends on College Avenue. According to Bryant, runners (and fast walkers) take off at Allen Street and College Avenue. They loop through campus and finish at St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
“It’s dark at race time. Lots of people do it in costume. We have a prize for best costume. We’ve seen firefighters running in uniform, people running in tuxedos and bathing suits. Lots of creative costumes. About 600 to 1,000 people participate in the race. It’s a lot of fun,” Bryant said.
Typically, First Night attendance is “weather centric,” according to Bryant. He said attendance at First Night averages around 12,000, and there is a substantial cohort of people who come from out of town and make First Night State College their New Year’s Eve tradition. Package deals with local hotels can be found on the First Night State College website, he said.
“Very few undergrads are in town at this time of year, so the demographic is very different than for those who attend Arts Fest. You’ll see your neighbors, people you see at the store, at the bank, at church, your kids’ schools. These are the people who attend First Night.”
Bryant said that First Night is the culmination of many months of intense planning. There are three paid staff in his office who work on First Night planning from Labor Day through the middle of January. Their work is augmented by 70 volunteers who help out in the office before and after the event, and do things such as help with the race and provide cookies and staffing for the warm-up station, in addition to setting up and tearing down the party.
“We can’t do it without volunteers. Some of the volunteers come back year after year — helping at First Night is part of their New Year’s tradition. Some of the volunteers are family members and friends of the staff members.
“Penn State is a big part of life here. If it’s a good football year, people who sometimes help out might be traveling to the bowl game, which is good. Having people travel to a bowl game is a good problem to have,” Bryant said.
He also said he is looking forward to another successful event to kick off 2018 in Centre County. With the sculptures and great selection of entertainment, he believes this year will be a party to remember.
“We know what we are doing,” he said. “We are lucky to have a pretty good music scene in the community, and lots of talent. There is a lot of good stuff to do. I think we have a good product to offer the community each and every year.
“If you don’t want to go to First Night because of the parking, get that thought out of your head. There is plenty of parking. There is also a zillion different genres of music, and if you don’t like music, there are plenty of workshops, comedy performances — the list goes on.
There is truly something for everyone.
“Buy a button, come downtown and have a great time.”
