Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 1, 1994 TAG: 9401010063
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By TODD JACKSON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Huh?
At the same time, kids frolicked in the YMCA pool while their parents lounged on inner tubes and watched old horror movies.
Come again?
First Night 1993-94, the third installment of the downtown extravaganza, was picking up steam an hour after the celebration began at 6 p.m. as young and old took part in the festivities held in and around the Virginia Museum of Transportation.
Just ask Billy Lancaster, who was making the rounds with her granddaughter, Mandy.
"Roanoke is really proud of [First Night]," she said. "And we should be. It's going to be a great time. There were 10,000 people here last year."
Mandy's father, Steve Lancaster, said he enjoys the atmosphere at First Night, which is alcohol-free and family oriented.
Ditto for Scott and Mariah Miller, who drove to Roanoke from Alderson, W.Va., with seven children in tow.
"We were looking for a family event on New Year's," Miller said as she and her husband studied a map to find their next destination. "So, we drove two hours down here."
First Night activities included: ice skating on a fiberglass-type rink; numerous musical and entertainment performances; horse-drawn carriage rides; participatory games for children; dancing; and just about anything else one could imagine - even an "imaginologist."
The festivities ended with a Chinese dragon processional and fireworks display.
Providing the boundaries for the festivities was a 35-foot inflated penguin on Norfolk Avenue and a 35-foot inflated clown on Church Street.
Inside the transportation museum, 5-year-old P.J. Wade of Roanoke had little time to talk to a reporter. Her attention was glued to an NBA video game, with free plays provided by a local video arcade. Asked to pick a favorite thing about First Night, Wade quickly responded: "the ice skating rink."
P.J.'s sister, 11-year-old Elizabeth, was busy playing the piano in another area of the museum.
John Wade, P.J.'s father, said First Night "is a lot of fun for the kids and a great way to start the new year."
Nearly 500 volunteers donated their time to make this year's First Night a success. One of those volunteers, Jim Phipps, was inside the museum preparing a train made out of cardboard boxes for children to decorate and color.
"It's great for kids to come in here and use their imaginations on something like this," he said.
And what about the ringleader of the celebration? Wendi Schultz, executive director of First Night, was juggling radio calls, questions from the crowd and her dinner while sporting a two-pronged, belled jester's hat.
Schultz said Friday's cold night air would not spoil the evening.
"It's a winter event," she said.
Schultz did not have a firm grasp on advance button sales or attendance figures, but said she was happy with the turnout at 7 p.m.
The First Night concept, which began in Boston 16 years ago, is now used in 104 cities in the United States, Canada and Australia, Schultz said.
Local groups, such as Roanoke's Festival in the Park, pay to use the First Night name.
Those attending the celebration were charged an admission price for an event button.
by CNB