Photo © Stan Grossfeld, Boston Globe

First Night

Description

First Night has become a world-famous New Year’s Eve celebration. Envisioned by artist and visionary Clara Wainwright, the event was created to give artists and musicians from the Boston area the opportunity to play at venues across the city in family-friendly and alcohol-free environments. The event proved so popular that by 2000 over 260 cities had adopted it although in recent years with Covid, the number has varied considerably.

Established, Dec 31, 1976

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30,000 people came to celebrate the first First Night

Bob Holloway entertained First Night fans with some jazz on his saxophone

Susan Espinola, 12, of Winthrop got her face painted at an art booth set up by the Massachusetts College of Art on Boston Common

The environmental art in the total First Night scene involved a number of innovative pieces including a "Sky Drawing" exhibit.

The only real disappointment of the night was the 200-foot red and white balloon scheduled to be lofted at 9:30 near the stage on the Boston Common baseball field. It never got off the ground. Gusting winds up to 30 miles per hour kept collapsing the balloon, and workers, buffeted by winds and cold, gave up the battle shortly before 10 p.m.

1976 - After a successful launch, the following year featured a series of 'preludes' including some artist installations.

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