A Constellation of Stars!
Welcome to First Night Northampton 2012
You're invited to attend Northampton's most beloved signature event. On Saturday, December 31st, the Center for the Arts and PeoplesBank welcome you to a city-wide celebration of creative community. For the 27th 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 array of entertainment presented by our own constellation of stars and supported by generous local sponsors.
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 our traditional family parade. Join the OffBeat Drumming Ensemble and Hooping Harmony as we make our way to Pulaski Park and through the streets of downtown. What else? Catch an eye-popping performance of the A2Z Yo-Yo Team at the Academy of Music starting at 1 pm. Or head up to John M. Greene Hall for a special appearance by the Young@Heart chorus at 2 pm. Check out the line-up of local bands at our newest venues, Hallie Flanagan Studio at Smith College and the Dynamite Space at Thornes Marketplace. Our performance program is filled with afternoon delights for young children plus all-day and evening excitement for audiences of all ages—including a Starlight Circus Cabaret!
Thanks to the Northampton Business Improvement District, we continue to offer fireworks for the whole family to see at 6:15 pm. 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 packed with music, dancing, and merriment until it's time to gather at the Hotel Northampton for the customary raising of the ball. We'll be counting down (or up?) to 2012 with our favorite hometown celebrities from radio stations WHMP and 93.9 The River.
A single bargain-priced button opens the doors to every event at every venue. Buy one early at a local vendor or online, and check out the companion performance program as well as the logistical tips that follow to plan a perfect and joyful day. Happy New Year!
Penny Burke, Executive Director
Northampton Center for the Arts
First Night Logistics
Parking: On First Night, parking is free in all of Northampton's municipal lots EXCEPT the downtown parking garage. Take note that every Smith College parking lot 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 5:45pm to 6:45pm because of the fireworks display. The same is true for the adjacent lots.
Button Sales on Saturday, December 31st: Of course, the easiest and most economical plan is to buy your First Night buttons in advance. Locations for purchasing buttons on December 31st are limited. Your best bet is the new First Night box office located on the second floor of Thornes Marketplace, open from 11 am to 9 pm, payment by cash or check only. You can also purchase buttons downtown at: Faces, State Street Fruit Store, and the Hotel Northampton. They are for sale at the door of these performance venues: Academy of Music; Center for the Arts; Theatre 14 and Hallie Flanagan at Smith College. They are available at Cooper's Corner in Florence and A.J. Hastings in Amherst.
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.
With Thanks
First Night Northampton is a team effort that requires energy and cooperation from many remarkable people. For the 27th time, we thank our performance venues, their staffs, and the scores of dedicated volunteers who work cheerfully for hours on New Year's Eve. We recognize our loyal button sales vendors throughout the Valley and especially appreciate the boost from our new co-presenters, PeoplesBank. We also thank Thornes Marketplace, host of the First Night box office on December 31st.
We are 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 partners at the BID who bring us First Night fireworks and keep the downtown sparkling.
Thanks as well to these individuals: David Barclay, Dian Behringer, Maddy Blanchette, Dave Boutilier, Debin Bruce, Bob Cilman, Ellen Clegg, Sue Dadmun, Steve Davis, Stephen St. Francis Decky, Jody Doele, Mac Everett, Eon Fontes-May, Piper Foreso, Mansour Ghalibaf, Nancy Goldstein, Amanda Hill, Debra J'Anthony, Claudia Lefko, Lisa Leizman, Bill Letendre, Dorothy Nemetz, Alexis Neubert, Amanda Schreyer, Debbie Shumway, Art Steele, Craig Stevens, Lisa Thompson, Gloria Tuperkeizsis, Sue Wilson, Dan Yacuzzo.
Finally, we extend our heartfelt appreciation to the enthusiastic and talented performers of First Night—a constellation of stars!