Rediscover Scranton During First Night

Showcasing all the best that Northeastern Pennsylvania has to offer, there’s no better event to help you Rediscover Scranton than First Night, our citywide New Year’s Eve celebration.

Running from 6 p.m. to midnight on New Year’s Eve, Thursday, December 31, 2009, First Night Scranton 2010 will feature art, music, family activities and much more. One admission button will get you into every venue for every act. Admission buttons cost $12; children under 5 and seniors over 65 are free.

Here’s a full list of the all the activities going on during First Night Scranton 2010. For a printable schedule of events to carry with you as you enjoy First Night, click here.

ARTS/CRAFTS

• Happy Faces Face Painting: Face painting for the whole family. Want to be turned into a clown, a tiger, or a super hero? These are the professionals who can make that happen.
• Caricatures by John O’Connell & Co.: Makes a great gift or keepsake. Get your portrait drawn LIVE, on the spot, by one of these fantastic artists.
• Procession Crafts with Jennifer Hill: Head over to Elm Park Methodist Church to make your crafts to carry in the First Night Scranton Procession. Poet, educator, and crafter extraordinaire Jennifer Hill will lead the kids in making First Night poetry streamers to carry in the Procession.
• Gymboree Craft Time: Stop by the AfA gallery to make something great to take home with you.

FAMILY

• Amusement rides and games: Visit the Courthouse Square to take a ride or play carnival games.
• Bingo: Just for seniors, this event takes place in the food court of the Mall at Steamtown from 3-7 p.m. Trolleys will be provided for transportation. Seniors over the age of 65 may attend the rest of the night’s festivities free of charge.
• Essay Contest Reading: The Lackawanna County Children’s Library asked local 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders to finish the statement “Celebrating First Night Scranton is awesome because…” Come out to hear what the winners had to say.
• People’s Procession: Join us! Led by our essay contest winner and our Junior Ringmaster, and including magicians, artists, and puppeteers, we will march from Elm Park Methodist Church down to Courthouse Square. Stop by Elm Park early to make your crafts to carry in the procession, or to grab a noisemaker.

COMEDY
The Vintage Theater will be our comedy venue this year, with two local, hysterical comedy improv troupes keeping you on your toes all night! Improv comedy is an unrehearsed, anything-can-happen, “Who’s Line Is It Anyway?” type of laugh-inducing entertainment.

• Here We Are in Spain: A long-form comedy improv group from Scranton.
• Steamtown Improv: A comedy improv group made up of local talented teens.

MAGIC

• Christopher the Magician: Specializing in sleight of hand, up-close magic, Christopher will be roaming throughout the evening, as well as taking part in the People’s Procession, and working a venue.
• Damian the Magician: In NEPA, when you think “magic” you think “Damian.” Damian brings us the debut of his brand-new Holiday show. Expect illusions, humor, sleight of hand, and grand mystical entertainment of the highest order.
• Tom Yurasits: Utilizing over twenty years experience in the field, Tom Yurasits will amaze and amuse his audience with his show of magic and illusion.

PERFORMANCES

• Cassandra the Fortuneteller: What does the crystal ball say? Purely for fun, let Cassandra (aka JoJo) see what the future has in store for you.
• Diana Shahein Egyptian Dancing: A mix of instruction and performance of traditional Egyptian dancing from a skilled and trained performer.
• The John Bromberg Pictures Moved by Strings Puppet Theatre: Avant-garde performance art that will inspire, educate, and entertain. Join the puppets in our Procession, too.
• Lotus Fire Belly Dancers: Belly dancing from professional women who use everything from swords and veils to zills and the wings of Isis.
• Red Shoes Dance Company: Folkloric character dancing and Russian ballet from a local dance troupe.
• Rob Smith the Juggler: Come see the man who can juggle bowling pins, flaming batons, and much more.
• Rupali Patel Traditional Indian Dancing: Immensely talented high school student Rupali Patel will amaze you with her traditional Indian/Bollywood dancing.
• Shakespeare the Bard of Avon: A one-man source of Shakespearian shenanigans! Fun for the whole family, writer/actor Dan Kostelec brings the bard’s work onto a level that everyone can enjoy and understand, while educating and entertaining.
• Zany Umbrella Circus: An original theatrical circus troupe along the lines of Cirque Du Soleil that will make you relive the best parts of your childhood. This show, “A Clown’s Dream,” revolves around a circus clown who’s lost his will to be a clown. He finds new inspiration in the acrobats, jugglers, wild performers, and even the audience itself!
• Zuppa Del Giorno: An original Commedia Dell Arte clowning show from Heather Stuart, who has studied and taught the craft of Commedia in both Scranton and Italy. Expect much audience participation.

MUSIC

• And the Moneynotes: Original music that covers everything from gypsy swing to Americana, from 60s garage to bluegrass. Where the Carpathians meet the Appalachians.
• Bare Knuckle: Ring in the New Year at the Main Stage with this rollicking, rocking, raucous band that performs original music as well as covers.
• Bog Swing Band: Great traditional Western swing and jazz.
• Brenda Fernandes: Soulful, poetic, original music from a majorly talented Scranton singer/songwriter and her piano.
• Cabinet: A flavorful blend of bluegrass and jam band music that will appeal to indie music lovers. Original music from an original band featuring fiddle, mandolin, upright bass, and more.
• Charles Havira: A musician of uncompromising ideals and superior melody, his songs reach into the listener and draw out raw, pure emotion, leaving an indelible impression on the soul.
• Crimson Tears: Scranton’s own original and classic rock band, bringing it to you for over twenty years.
• The Dale Honeycutt Band: Original metal music from local high school students.
• Ed Goldberg & The Odessa Klezmer Band: This Grammy-nominated group brings to life the happy foot-tapping music from traditional Eastern Europe, Romania, Poland, and Israel. Winner of Best Klezmer Album for the 2009 JPF Music Awards.
• Gallucci-palooza: Students of Gallucci’s music will be displaying their talents.
• Groove Train: A five-piece high energy dance band that plays a little bit of everything from the 50s through today. Kick off First Night with them at the Main Stage!
• The Hickory Project: Hard-driving original and traditional acoustic music with a bluegrass bent.
• The Jim Buckley Jazz Quartet: Jazz standards with the distinctive vocals of Jim Tigue.
• Joe Stanky & The Cadets: A little country, a little rock and roll, and a whole lot of polka for you to dance to. This band has over 25 years of experience and is sure to delight polka fans.
• The Main Street Cruisers: High energy rock and roll from the 50s and 60s. This group, with their poodle skirts and bowling shirts, as well as member Lenny Longo from Bill Haley’s Comets, will make you sing, laugh, and reminisce!
• Mariachi Tequila: Music of Chile, Mexico, and South America, from a group of talented Marywood University students playing clarinet, violin, guitaron, and vihuela.
• The Taste: Original rock music from a young, up-and-coming Scranton band.
• Vivace! Valley View Treble Choir under the direction of Gina Lupini: An auditioned choir of seventh through ninth grade students from Valley View school district.
• Wargo-Steveskey Flute & Guitar Duo: Beautiful classical music from two local award-winning musicians and teachers, Edward Wargo (flute) and Jay Steveskey (guitar). Their repertoire covers standard classical, Latin American, Spanish, and Fingerstyle Jazz arrangements.

Several local parking garages, including the Mall at Steamtown, will be open and free for the night and on-street parking will also be free during First Night. Free shuttle trolleys are available for the entire night. The event will be held in any weather.