First Night® – St. Louis Offers Fun For The Whole Family… Or Just The Two Of You

dec 15, 2011 BY Grand CenterFirst Night®

Presented by Grand Center Inc. and Edward Jones, the 20th anniversary celebration features captivating new acts & favorites from years past

Known for its feast of sights, sounds, and even more to do inside the venues and on the streets of Grand Center, First Night® – St. Louis, the city’s largest, most creative New Year’s Eve celebration, offers a night out that satisfies most any whim.

“The beauty of First Night is that you can have any kind of evening you want,” said Travis Howser, director of events and theaters at Grand Center Inc. “You can gather the kids and hit Busch Student Center and make the rounds through all of the family-friendly entertainment; you can grab a seat, sit back and enjoy an entire evening of music, theater and comedy; or just grab your friends or that special someone for a night out on the town with dinner, live music and dancing. There’s no limit, and it’s all your choice.”

From 6 p.m. to midnight Dec. 31, First Night® - St. Louis brings the magic of this year’s theme “Xanadu” to life in Grand Center. Loosely known as the mythical place that houses the nine muses in Greek Mythology, including art, literature, music, dance and more – perfectly capturing the spirit and variety of the celebration – “Xanadu” also inspired the 1980 romantic-musical-fantasy film and now cult classic by the same name. While the muses stay busy in Grand Center year-round in the theaters, art museums, art galleries, concert halls, schools, churches, restaurants and seasonal events, on Dec. 31, First Night® revelers might catch a glimpse of these apparitions stirring up a little New Year’s Eve magic.

For those who prefer to dance the night away as they greet the New Year, The Sheldon is one venue not to be missed. The dance floor of the Sheldon Ballroom will be “en fuego” with Latin beats, courtesy of Sol Salseros and Samba Bom, and professional dance instructors to help melt away the cold and spice up the night. Sol Salseros, a small group of fiery musicians with a big Latin sound, performs at 7:45 and 10:45 p.m. Samba Bom, a St. Louis-based ensemble that offers authentic sounds of Brazil, performs at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Outside, the heated “Xanadu” dance tent on Washington Avenue, just north of Strauss Park, will be thumping with nonstop dance beats spun by DJ Chris Johnson.

In the Sheldon Concert Hall, St. Louis favorites Kim Massie and Brian Owens round out the heavy-hitting vocal lineup. But the selection of live music goes well beyond the Sheldon. Returning favorites include the cabaret duos of Jeannie Trevor and Wendy Gordon, and Joe Dryer and Rosemary Watts; Gene Dobbs Bradford & the Blues Inquisition at Third Baptist Church; and performances at the College Church by Le Hot Jazz, Songs of Africa, and Native American flutist Mark Holland.

Newcomers to the First Night® music lineup include the Funky Butt Brass Band with their brand of New Orleans-inspired blues, gospel, Motown and Southern Rock; The Darrells, a fourpiece Americana/Rockabilly band; traditional Irish trio Eileen Gannon, Kevin Buckley and Kelly Winter; the energetic Irish duo Joe Stickley and Sean Canan; and the championship barbershop quartet SrQ Barbershop.

This special 20th anniversary celebration of First Night® also features a whole host of new entertainment, including interactive comedy illusionist, and St. Louis native, Joel Meyers and his progressive brand of magic; the high-flying, international trampoline sensation and former America’s Got Talent contestant, Flippen’ Out; three shows by hypnotist Brian Imbus in the Scottish Rite Auditorium; and a new production, Death by Tickle: Astounding Feats of Absurdity, from a First Night® favorite, Juggling Jeff, along with his comedy partner Oh My Gosh Josh.

Returning favorites include the magic of Brent Lowenstein in Johnson Hall at Third Baptist Church; improv comedy with Ed Reggi’s Paper Slip Theatre in the Grandel Theater; the ever-popular children’s activities – with make-and-take art projects, face-painting and storyteller Bobby Norfolk – at the Busch Student Center, where the 3rd floor ballroom will be turned into a dance showcase featuring performances by Ashleyliane Dance Company, MADCO, Metro Dance Company and more.

The Cadence, a dynamic, lively drumming group from Springfield, Mo., also returns, taking the Main Stage at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m. to lead the countdowns to both fireworks displays. The first display is at 9 p.m. for the young and young at heart, and the grand finale is at midnight.

As always, visitors to First Night® – St. Louis will find more activity and surprises outside on the festival footprint, centered at Strauss Park at the intersection of Grand and Washington boulevards where visitors can make wishes for the New Year and burn regrets from the past. Wishes will take the shape of “cake sprinkles,” decorating a 12-foot-high, artificial 20th birthday cake built just for First Night®.

And for those who like to pair dinner with New Year’s Eve, the burgeoning Grand Center restaurant scene offers plenty of new and old favorites, several of which are conveniently located right on the festival footprint. In addition, First Night® offers two food trucks, Papa Tom’s Gateway Dog Truck and Guerrilla Street Food, as well as warm refreshments from the First Night ® coffee shop set up inside Grand Center Arts Academy and the Kranzberg Theatre and hot chocolate served from the Design Deli’s converted fire engine truck on the street.

Admission buttons to FIRST NIGHT® - St. Louis are on sale now for $5 for children and $10 for adults. Several area businesses have partnered with First Night® to offer buttons at a pre-event price of $4 for children and $8 for adults. The community partners include: all area Dierbergs, select Schnucks locations and new this year, a collection of independent book stores, record stores and coffee shops throughout St. Louis: Left Bank Books, Subterranean Books, Dunaway Books, Euclid Records, Vintage Vinyl, Sue’s News in the Galleria Mall, Park Avenue Coffee, Pudd’nhead Books, The Book House, and Main Street Books in St. Charles. Children 5 and younger are free. For more program information, visit www.firstnightstl.org or www.grandcenter.org.

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