I have never been a fan of New Year's Eve because watching all that craziness on TV really depresses me. This New Year's Eve changed all that and I had the best time ever bringing in the New Year! With our youngest child old enough to stay up until midnight on this special occasion, we made a plan to attend "First Night", a family celebration of the Arts.
Lynnie and Tori hung out with us at the house before they left for their own party with friends.
During the afternoon, I had bought the pin-on badges for the evening (allowing for admission to all events) which these folks stopped by to pick up. Then we all headed downtown to begin a very pleasant evening of interesting sights and wonderful live entertainment.
Our first stop was the Model Railroad Exhibit appropriately housed in an old train station! We had visited this as a family many years ago. Jeff was very excited to show Chelsea and we looked forward to having our boys see it.
Notice the control station at the top of this picture. The guys stand up there to operate and control the trains running on the many different tracks. All of them were running, probably ten sets of long trains or more. The building is arranged for viewing with a one way pathway cut out, an entrance and an exit door.
The attention to detail in this model train landscape is phenomenal. The men who are a part of this Club have been meeting once a week for Thirty years to construct and maintain the display!
Next we booked it a long way to the farthest end of the walking mall. We went to the first of four different churches to see a classic rock band comprised of people we know! The myriad of entertainment choices were listed on a program, each show beginning on the hour and performing for 45 min. That left a 15 minute time span to walk to the next venue, usually a few blocks away.
All the performers played in the sanctuary of these very old and beautiful churches decorated for Christmas. We visited the Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopal and Lutheran churches throughout the evening and saw spectacular woodwork, hardwood floors, wooden pews and fabulous organs.
This next band packed the church including a wrap around balcony where we were seated. The music was beyond great and the front man was a born entertainer. I noticed a great deal of folks were middle aged and older and there were a lot of families with children. The young people were in the restaurants and nightclubs along the mall and a hundred teenagers were gathered to talk and hang out at the intersection (closed to traffic) in the center of the mall. This event truly had something for everyone!
After two rock bands, we changed it up by watching the "Spoon Man". This guy was very talented in his spoon playing but also in the way he got the entire audience involved in his act. He was hilarious!
The last live performance of the evening was "Mean Mary" ( not on stage yet in this picture) who was by far one of the most talented young musicians that Larry and I had ever seen live. She could play a banjo like nobody's business and sang so well with a unique rhythm punctuated by her stomping foot. It was a treat to hear her.
By then it was nearing midnight and time to get to our vantage point on the top of the parking garage to see the "apple" drop and witness the fireworks. We had a lot of fun up there as it was covered with a few inches of ice and made for great sliding! Many members of our family and old friends were there ( reminds me of "Auld Lang Syne"!) and spirits were high, in our case naturally! Loud music filled the air and we could see folks dancing on the ground level from our fifth floor height. The "apple" was held up by a crane and dropped slowly as everyone counted down loudly to midnight. Kisses and hugs were exchanged!
Then the fireworks began! They were great. Jeff had fun posing folks for pictures with the bright fireworks exploding in the background.
This was an evening to remember and so perfect for children and the entire family to enjoy. For some reason, I had always thought that these buttons were too expensive ( about 9.00 each), kids eight and under free, but we agreed- it was worth every penny paid! Being out and about together in the nighttime, walking quickly from one church to the next, hearing great music, and seeing old friends along the way was awesome!
This was a terrific way to bring in the New Year and a great improvement over my usual plan. In the future, I hope to say good-bye to boring, depressing New Year's Eves!
