Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 1, 1995 TAG: 9501030097
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: HOLIDAY
SOURCE: CATHRYN McCUE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Three children and a man found shelter under a penguin's wing Saturday in downtown Roanoke during one of the most miserable, cold, rainy, yukky (did I mention cold?) nights of the winter.
All four appeared unharmed, however, as they ate warm french fries beneath the outstretched appendage of a three-story inflatable penguin, one of the mascots at Roanoke's fourth annual First Night.
B.J., Arlynn and Todd Centamore, ages 7, 9 and 15, are veterans of the annual event, having survived the bitter cold of First Night '93.
Ringing out the old year and ringing in the new at the stroke of midnight, with fireworks and a Chinese dragon parade and noisemakers and party hats, wasn't high on their priority list.
"I think I'll get a couple of balloons painted on my face," B.J. said.
Steve Perry, a friend of their mother's, wasn't sure the midnight blast was on his agenda, either.
"If it keeps up like this," he said, glancing toward the sky, "I don't know if we'll make it."
The cold drizzle promised to shrink this year's crowd from the 10,000 or so that usually show up at the alcohol-free, family-oriented celebration of New Year's Eve. By early evening, a number of volunteers already had called to cancel.
"But the show must go on," said a cheerful Sandy Tibbs-Robinson, volunteer coordinator, as she hung up a banner on Salem Avenue. Holding up the other end was first-time draftee Betty Lail - her mother.
"This is the first time, and maybe the last time," Lail said, smiling courageously through the "why-am-I-here-freezing-to-death?" look on her face.
The event is a combined effort of dozens of sponsors, hundreds of volunteers and thousands of partygoers who prefer a fun, safe alternative way to ring in the new year.
Perry, who drove from Fredericksburg to bring the Centamore children, said that city is holding its first First Night this year.
"I guess it's spreading. It's a good idea."
Since the idea began in 1976 in Boston, the party has spread to at least 126 cities, including some in Canada. Great idea, yes, but the name doesn't really fit, does it? Dec. 31 is, after all, the last night of each year.
"You know, I have never gotten a good answer on that," said Wendi Schultz, executive director of Festival in the Park, which puts on Roanoke's version.
Music, clowns, ice skating, spaghetti dinners, storytelling, dancing, piatas, Mardi Gras masks, peanut-butter art, ice sculpture, inflatable penguins and nutcrackers, a giant Twister game - just about everything you can imagine was somewhere in the mega-block party.
And, thanks to some artistic folks at B&M Sheet Metal, the Star City's First Night got its very own star.
For days, Robert Frary (who donates his time every year) worked on rigging up the star with tiny white lights (donated), securing it to a huge construction lift (donated) and hoisting it into the air.
As dusk fell Saturday, he cranked the star up about 25 feet - halfway. Then he described how if all went well (a quick praying gesture here), the star would rise slowly at one minute before midnight, while the crowd counted down and the lights blinked off and on every second. And how at the stroke of midnight, the star would reach its full height, just as the first firework boomed over the city.
If all went well.
by CNB