First Night
Encyclopedia
- "First night" may also refer to a wedding nightWedding NightWedding Night is a 2001 Canadian comedy film.-Plot:After winning a contest Florence and Nicolas set out to get married in Niagara Falls accompanied by their family and friends. No sooner do they arrive than the situation turns sour, and the couple decides to call the whole thing off...
First Night is an artistic and cultural celebration on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, taking place from afternoon until midnight. Some cities have all their events during the celebration outside, but some cities have events that are hosted indoors by organizations in the city, such as churches and theaters. Since it happens on New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve
New Year's Eve is observed annually on December 31, the final day of any given year in the Gregorian calendar. In modern societies, New Year's Eve is often celebrated at social gatherings, during which participants dance, eat, consume alcoholic beverages, and watch or light fireworks to mark the...
, First Night celebrations are actually held on the last night of the old year. The real first night occurs on New Year's Day. First Night celebrates a community's local culture, often featuring music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
, art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, fireworks
Fireworks
Fireworks are a class of explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. The most common use of a firework is as part of a fireworks display. A fireworks event is a display of the effects produced by firework devices...
and, in some cities, ice sculpture
Ice sculpture
Ice sculpture is a form of sculpture that uses ice as the raw material. Sculptures from ice can be abstract or realistic and can be functional or purely decorative...
s and parade
Parade
A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of some kind...
s.
First Night began in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1976 by a small group of artists who sought an alternative way of celebrating New Year's Eve, creating an event where the consumption of alcohol is banned. Soon other surrounding communities started their own First Night celebrations. By the 1990s, the First Night Boston event was attracting works by over a thousand artists, and in 2006 more than a million visitors were in attendance.
In Boston, live coverage of the final part of First Night, including the countdown to midnight and fireworks over Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor
Boston Harbor is a natural harbor and estuary of Massachusetts Bay, and is located adjacent to the city of Boston, Massachusetts. It is home to the Port of Boston, a major shipping facility in the northeast.-History:...
that begin at the stroke of midnight, is broadcast by WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
; the station's parent company CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
is an official sponsor.
During the Late 2000s Recession
Late 2000s recession
The late-2000s recession, sometimes referred to as the Great Recession or Lesser Depression or Long Recession, is a severe ongoing global economic problem that began in December 2007 and took a particularly sharp downward turn in September 2008. The Great Recession has affected the entire world...
, several First Night celebrations faced financial difficulty, being scaled back or canceled, while others found the funding to continue. Alternatively, other celebrations have sprung up. For example, in 2003, First Night Providence announced they would not be able to continue their celebration which had been continuing for 19 years. A group of local artists banded together to create Bright Night Providence, an artist-run New Year's Eve celebration based on the idea and spirit of First Night.
Despite changing economic conditions the First Night model continues to evolve and thrive as a positive force in the arts not only in Boston, but throughout the United States and Canada. First Night USA is the national off-shoot of the parent organization, tasked with engaging stakeholders, opening up communications and creating networks that share ideas and best practices with the numerous First Night licensed events spread throughout the United States.
In addition to the New Year's festival, First Night is deeply involved in Boston's art and culture communities via the Neighborhood Network. Started in 1994, the Neighborhood Network partners First Night with 25 community organizations throughout Boston's neighborhoods- including Dorchester, Mattapan, Jamaica Plain and South Boston- to engage young people and families in creative workshops with artists and educators. In 2000 First Night launched Summer Beat, a series of summer camp like dance and music workshops spread around the city of Boston.