[Press Release] : Press Release

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Contact: Columbia Parks and Recreation - (573) 874-7460 or Karen Ramey - 874-6397, newyear at coin.org or visit firstnight.missouri.org

First Night® Columbia 2005

COLUMBIA, MO (December 28, 2004) -- Ring in the New Year at the tenth anniversary of First Night - mid-Missouri's premiere event! Celebrate with family, friends and the community at this alcohol-free, unique and innovative public celebration that marks the passage of time through the arts.

Entertainment includes more than 50 performances plus activities and art at 12 locations in The District. Doors open at 6 p.m. Entertainment begins at 6:30 pm.

Event-goers will travel from one location to the next enjoying great entertainment such as jazz, dancing, rock & soul, children's performers, bluegrass, Irish, storytelling, rock-a-billy, rhythm & blues, poetry, Klezmer, fiddling, magic & juggling. A venue is planned just for teens!

Make a mask, crown or noisemaker at the Children's Art Area, participate in the 5K Run/Walk at 4pm, carry a giant puppet or balloon in the procession, or ride on a carriage through beautiful downtown Columbia.

A Children's Procession at 9:15 p.m. will end with a fireworks display. At 11:30 p.m., the People's Procession will lead revelers to the finale at Courthouse Square with entertainment, a pyroball drop and countdown with spectacular fireworks at midnight. 

Admission buttons are $7 for those 7 years and older. Buy your button early and receive valuable coupons at Parks and Recreation (downtown & ARC), Streetside Records and Gerbes Supermarkets beginning Dec. 17. Call (573) 874-7460 or visit firstnight.missouri.org for information or hotel accommodations. Volunteers receive free admission. 

First Night is sponsored by Boone Hospital Center, 102.3 BXR & KFRU 1400 Radio, City of Columbia, Columbia Convention and Visitor's Tourism Development Fund, Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri Arts Council (a state agency), and KOMU-TV8 & WB5.

How to Enjoy First Night
Buy Your Admission Button Early
A First Night button is a required admission pass to all indoor performances and helps make First Night possible. Buttons can be purchased before the event (Dec. 17 to 5 p.m. on Dec. 31) from Columbia Parks and Recreation downtown (closed Dec. 31) or the ARC, Gerbes Supermarkets and Streetside Records. With each button purchase prior to First Night, you will receive a valuable coupon sheet. Buttons can also be purchased on the night of the event beginning at 6:00 pm at each venue. Buttons are $7. Children 6 and under are free. Call 573-874-7460 for more information.

Plan Your Evening
Review the program early and choose your entertainment for the evening. First Night is a great opportunity to try something new, and a chance to see and hear a variety of performers and a broad selection of music genres. A program is provided with button purchase or visit the First Night Web site. There is something for everyone to enjoy at First Night! Leave enough time to walk from place to place and enjoy the sights of beautiful downtown Columbia along the way!

Arrive Early
All First Night performances are seated on a first-come, first-served basis. Each site will be closed when it reaches capacity. Consider attending an alternative event nearby.

Take Care of Yourself
Dress in layers, wear comfortable walking shoes and please be careful when crossing streets! You'll find restrooms at most indoor sites. Check the map for a list of restaurants that will be open. 

Getting Around - transportation and parking
>From 6:30 p.m. - 11:30 p.m., Columbia Transit shuttle buses will run a route that winds through the First Night footprint. The bus will always stop at four stops designated on the map, but will be able to make other stops as requested. Flag down a bus and relax on your way to more First Night fun! From 7 p.m. - 11 p.m., Carriages will stop at the columns on Walnut and at the 10th and Cherry parking garage. 

Parking Garages are located at 8th and Cherry, 8th and Walnut and 10th and Cherry. Streets closed: 7th from Walnut to Ash and Ash from 6th to 9th.
All venues are smoke and alcohol free.

Entertainment
The entertainment will be multi-cultural and multi-generational representing the many genres of storytelling, music, magic, dance, film, poetry, puppetry, visual art, theater and fitness.

JAZZ AND CLASSICAL:
The Duel with Juilliard graduate, Sutu Forte and Berklee College of music, Tom Andes on two grand pianos. The rich, echo tones of Karen Solgard on the beautiful Hardanger, Norwegian fiddle. Dan Crary, international performer on solo guitar, everything from Mozart to traditional European folk tunes.

ACOUSTIC ROOTS PERFORMANCE AND DANCE COMMUNITY:
Scandinavian, Irish, Klezmer and Old-time dances. Performances by CE' (Irish) and Ironweed with International Guitar Flatpicker, Dan Crary and award winning fiddler, Kelly Jones.

SPOKEN WORD:
Storytellers - Local favorites, Sarah and Thom Howard and award winner, Greg Blair. Karen Solgard - OLD NORSE FOLKTALES. 

Poets-Award winning Poet, Marta Ferguson will host*AMERICA'S FAVORITE POEM PROJECT with audience participation, Renee Reed-Miller will host POETRY AND PERCUSSION FOR CHILDREN.

FILM-"Pass the Gravy", from the 1920's silent film era will have an original score performed by the People's Republic of Klezmerica.

ROCK (PERFORMANCE AND DANCE) Singer/Songwriter, Hilary Scott, Off the Wall, rhythm & blues and the rockin' soul of K.C. Streetband. Jason Ringenberg's rockabilly, "The Rockinest Folksinger That Ever Lived" Chicago Sun Times.

PERFORMANCE DANCE - Flamenco Dance from Kristina Martinez (studied in Madrid, Spain and is now with the Center of Creative Arts in St. Louis) and Middle Eastern Bellydancing from Deva Dancers.

MAGIC - Multi-Award winner, Keith Jozsef.

Fun for Kids
All First Night entertainment is appropriate for families.

Children's Art "Create and Celebrate" Armory Sports Center (lower level), 6:30 p.m. - 10 p.m.
Visit the Armory Sports Center on the corner of 7th and Ash Streets and see how it has been transformed to an art creation area. Make headbands, noisemakers, masks and more. Everyone Create and Celebrate! Coordinated by Columbia Parks and Recreation

Children's Procession - Begins at First Christian Church parking lot, 9:15 p.m. 
Complete with giant balloons, puppets & percussion help from Community Recreation's City-Wide Drum Line & Rhythm Band, the procession will make its way to the courthouse square for a mini-finale. Wear or carry art creations and play shakers made at the Armory Children's Art Area. Children must be accompanied by an adult. 

Children's Finale - held at courthouse square, 9:30 p.m.
A special finale for the children, and for those who can't make the midnight finale, complete with a countdown and a fireworks display synchronized to children's music.

Children's Entertainment - Puppetry from Leon Van Weeldon, Rockin' Children's Songs from Jason Ringenberg, Old-Time Children's dance, Storytelling, Poetry and Percussion, PACE Theater, Magic & Drumming. 

Teen Venue: First Night/Last Chance - Armory Sports Center Gymnasium, 
6:30 p.m. -11:30 p.m.
Wondering what do with your middle school, junior high or high school student during the First Night celebration? Five bands of teens will share the stage for the evening. For those teens not interested in the other events, or wanting to "break away" for a while, we offer a safe and exciting alternative. Between acts there will be performances by Teen-to-Teen Inter ACT. Coordinated by Officer John Warner (573) 874-7406.

Run or Walk into the New Year

Boone Hospital First Night 5K Run/Walk
4 p.m.,pre-register at Cyclextreme, run begins at Flat Branch Park 
The 5K Run/Walk is a way for runners and walkers to celebrate the start of the New Year, or the end of the old. The race begins and ends at Flat Branch Park, Cherry & 4th Streets, and winds through the streets of Downtown Columbia and the MU campus.

Pre-registration is $15 (before Dec 29). Forms can be found at firstnight.missouri.org or at CyclExtreme. On the day of the race, register at Cyclextreme, fee is $20. All participants receive a long-sleeved t-shirt, a First Night admission button and are eligible for prizes. Coordinated by Boone Hospital's WELLAWARE, Mayor's Council on Physical Fitness and Health and Columbia Track Club. (Those not preregistered will not be guaranteed a t-shirt.)

Special Features
People's Procession
11:30 p.m., begins on 9th Street in front of the Missouri Theatre
First Nighters will fill the street and follow the beat of the drums. Wear a hat or mask, carry a noisemaker, spirit flag or a giant puppet and process to the Courthouse Square for the grand finale.

Grand Finale
At 11:30 p.m., entertainment will begin performing on the outdoor stage. The People's Procession will end at the Square at 11:45 p.m. with a countdown with a pyroball drop, Auld Lang Syne and a spectacular fireworks display fired off the rooftops around the courthouse square to bring in the year 2005.

Venue Locations
Armory Sports Center (Children's Art and Teen Venue), Boone County Government Center & Square (meditative and finales), Calvary Episcopal Church (dance), Panera Bread Co. (poetry), Columbia Art League (art sale & exhibits), CyclExtreme (5K Run), First Christian Church (entertainment), Historic Missouri Theatre (entertainment), Missouri United Methodist Church (entertainment), Tiger Columns (entertainment). 

Contact Information 
Volunteer Contact Information
Volunteers are needed for First Night. Volunteers can help with sales, usher, and work as stage managers or site managers or as stage hands. It takes approximately 150 volunteers to produce First Night - so lend a hand for a few hours and receive free admission to First Night. 
To volunteer, call 874-7460.

For general information, call Parks and Recreation at (573) 874-7460.
Director of Operations: Karen Ramey
Director of Entertainment: Jane Accurso
First Night Headquarters: Calvary Episcopal Church on Dec. 30 and Dec. 31
Visit: firstnight.missouri.org
Email: newyear at coin.org 

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