THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, August 17, 1995 TAG: 9508150126
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT McCASKEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 99 lines
MIMES IN THE ZOO, a band on a barge in the Hague, or maybe sculptures on the roof of a downtown restaurant; just a few possibilities for Norfolk's upcoming ``First Night'' celebration.
Although more than four months off, the city is busy preparing for this novel New Year's Eve party. Already held in more than 150 cities nationwide, the First Night concept calls on communities to salute the passage of time with a kind of moving/cruising festival of the performing and visual arts; and it is alcohol-free.
The gala is a first for Norfolk and will be produced by Festevents, which received official approval Aug. 8 from the International Alliance of First Night Celebrations organization. First Night was established in 1976 in Boston by a band of artists. The group assists cities in running the affair.
``They'll be showing us some of the past pitfalls and successes,'' said Karen Scherberger, Festevents' director.
Not serving alcohol - part of the family-focus - is one of several stipulations to host the celebration. The festival also must be managed by a nonprofit organization, give first priority to local artists and promote cultural diversity and broad-based community activity.
``It is not an anti-alcohol event,'' Scherberger said. ``What we're doing is providing different activities from events already going on in the city.''
Festevents is now sending out a ``Call to Local Artists'' to participate. Civic leagues, business associations, and merchants also are being contacted.
Shows and exhibits will take place throughout the city, with many of the activities concentrated in downtown, Ghent, Old Dominion University, Larchmont and the Virginia Zoo.
``The essence of the event will be created by residents and the art community of Norfolk,'' Scherberger said. ``A key element of First Night is to recognize the arts as a community-unifying element.''
The celebration will begin at noon New Year's Eve day and run past midnight. While many of the programs will be in museums, theaters and other traditional art venues, out-of-the-ordinary showplaces will give it the local flavor.
Plays in the parks and jazz on street corners might be other examples of what could go on. The idea is to offer a citywide stage of creativity.
Cora Conte, a Newport News native, attended a First Night celebration in Charlottesville last year.
``I like to do different things,'' Conte said. ``There was a real outdoors atmosphere and a lot of different types of music. Nearly everything was in walking distance.''
Conte, who has been to First Night committee meetings here, said she hopes the city will be prepared for the event.
``Norfolk will be on a larger scale than Charlottesville and providing directions and transportation to all the activities will be crucial,'' Conte said. ``It would be nice to have a centralized information booth before and during the event so people could call and plan. There will probably be a lot of people from out of state.''
Making the festival user-friendly is a high priority for Scherberger and her staff.
``I think it goes without saying that Festevents will be the primary information center,'' Scherberger noted, ``but there will be other ticket and information outlets too. They will be well-identified prior to the event.''
Thousands of participants - from in and out of town - are expected to turn out.
``I think it's a very exciting development for the city,'' said Mayor Paul D. Fraim. ``It will be a good community-building exercise.''
Banks, galleries and retail shops will be among the satellite information sites. Tickets, which will probably be in the form of buttons, will entitle guests to most or all of the events and are expected to cost around $5 to $7. Some activities may be free, and there might be different buttons for adults and children.
First Nights have been held in Williamsburg and Virginia Beach. Williamsburg still participates, but Virginia Beach discontinued the party after hosting it in 1989-1990.
``We couldn't get the funding we needed to keep it going,'' said Bill Center, vice president of Neptune Festival Inc., which produced the event. ``We received some money from the Virginia Beach Commission for the Arts, but then they got their budget cut . . . and Desert Storm brought attendance down.''
Basic funding for Norfolk will come from the Festevents budget and corporate sponsors.
Scherberger attended a First Night in Boston several years ago and was intrigued by the variety of diverse elements that the celebration brings together.
``It's seldom that you see the arts community interacting with the YMCA,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Festevents director Karen Scherberger is hoping for a lot of
community involvement in the First Night celebration.
TO PARTICIPATE
Groups and individuals interested in participating in First Night
are encouraged to write or call Norfolk Festevents at 120 W. Main
St., Norfolk, Va. 23510, 441-2345.
KEYWORDS: FIRST NIGHT FESTEVENTS by CNB