After a one-year hiatus from traditional in-person festivities, First Night Springfield will return Dec. 31 with both free and ticketed family-friendly entertainment and activities based mostly at the Hoogland Center for the Arts.
Because of concerns surrounding COVID-19 and a lack of vaccines for the general population, last year’s First Night was a free affair offered virtually and featuring performers from Springfield, California and Florida.
Now vaccines are widely available, but COVID-19 hasn’t gone away, which is why most First Night activities will be at Hoogland, according to Springfield Area Arts Council Executive Director Sheila Walk.
The Hoogland, 420 S. Sixth St., has established protocols to promote mask-wearing and social distancing by visitors, she said.
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First Night, which is the arts council’s main fundraiser, will mark its 35th year. In the past, First Night has presented local talent on a dozen or more stages at various downtown locations.
“The concerns about public health led the arts council’s board to reduce the footprint this year,” Walk said. “This is a way of safeguarding the performers and the attendees.”
The public will be encouraged to wear masks at the indoor events.
“We will have masks and sanitizer for everyone who needs them and ask our guests to keep one ballet leap apart whenever they can,” Walk said.
While the performers won’t wear masks during their performances, they have been encouraged to be fully vaccinated, she said.
“First Night Springfield is designed to be a celebration of our local arts community, and we’ve missed that,” she said. “We’ve missed the arts. We’ve also missed being with other people to enjoy the arts. We want to be cautious, but we also want to emerge again to appreciate the arts as a community.”
First Night Springfield is one of the longest-running New Year’s Eve celebrations of its kind in the country, Walk said.
It’s called “first night,” she said, because “in ancient calendars, the new year began at dusk” on the last day of the year.
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Here’s a list of scheduled activities, with more-detailed information to posted soon on the arts council’s website at springfieldartsco.org/first-night.
*1-4 p.m. at the Hoogland, free arts activities will be offered by Creative Reuse Marketplace, Dana-Thomas House, Garvey-Tubman Center, Illinois State Museum, Lincoln Memorial Gardens, Lowe’s, Springfield Art Association and the YMCA. Springfield Dance also will perform, and no pre-registration is required.
*5:30-7:30 p.m. at Boone’s, 301 W. Edwards St.: Free jazz music featuring the Stone Cold Band. Boone’s offers drinks and food for sale. There is no cover charge.
*6 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 321 S. Seventh St.: Performance of a locally written play by Robert Davis to mark “Watch Night.”
Watch Night is an African-American tradition that recalls the vigil leading to Jan. 1, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation declared that Blacks in Southern states were freed from slavery. There is no charge to attend, but donations will be accepted.
*7 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church: Organist and music historian Paula Romanaux will perform works by modern African-American composers. There is no charge to attend, but donations will be accepted.
*7-11 p.m. at Hoogland Center for the Arts: A variety of local groups will perform on four different floors of the center. A detailed schedule will be posted at springfieldartsco.org/first-night and in printed form to guests at the door.
Tickets are $5 for youth and $20 for adults. Tickets may be purchased at the door or in advance on Hoogland’s website, hcfta.org.
Acts will include Capital City Improv, International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring 239, Spencer Films, Springfield International Folk Dancers and Springfield Municipal Opera.
The Sangamon Watercolor Society will exhibit members’ work in the gallery.
*11:15 p.m. fireworks. Fireworks, presented by the arts council in partnership with the city of Springfield, will begin after the conclusion of activities inside the Hoogland. People are invited to gather at Fourth Street and Capitol Avenue for the show, which Walk said will end in time for people to reach other destinations by midnight.
Contact Dean Olsen: dolsen@gannett.com; (217) 836-1068; twitter.com/DeanOlsenSJR.
