What's This?
First Night Raleigh
Location: 100-500 Fayetteville Street/City Plaza
Date: Monday December 31st, 2012
Time: 2 pm-12 midnight
Visit: www.artsplosure.org
First Night Raleigh is central North Carolina’s largest New Year’s Eve community celebration of the arts. This year’s festival will feature nearly 100 performances showcasing various forms of dance, improvisational comedy, theatre, interactive art installations, and live music from performers representing a wide variety of genres including rock, blues, jazz, classical, gospel, opera, folk and more. The 22nd annual festival will take place on Monday, December 31, 2012 across a 24-block area of downtown Raleigh, encompassing three-dozen indoor and outdoor venues.
This year’s celebration takes inspiration from the world of the circus, and many of the interactive installations, make-and-take crafts, and performances throughout the afternoon and evening will feature the circus arts. First Night festivities begin at 2 pm with the Children’s Celebration–performances and hands-on art activities geared specifically toward young revelers. Following The People’s Procession–a participatory parade at 6–and an early countdown at 7, Raleigh comes alive with continuous performances throughout downtown.
You won’t want to miss the 90-foot Ferris wheel and a chance to drop like the acorn on the Jumbo Drop, which will be erected on Fayetteville Street. The festival concludes at Midnight with the famous Raleigh Acorn drop and fireworks to ring in 2013.
Admission passes go on sale December 1 for $9 and provide access to ALL First Night Raleigh 2013 venues, performances and activities. For more information about First Night Raleigh 2013 and full performance schedules, visit www.firstnightraleigh.com.
Associated Street Closures:
The event hours are from 2 pm Monday, December 31 until 12 am January 1.
The requests are as follows:
1) In order to set up for The People's Procession Parade, the 00 block of Edenton will be closed from 9 am -7 pm on December 31. The participants will assemble on the 00 block of Edenton beginning at 5:30 pm. At 6 pm, they will proceed west on Edenton, left onto Salisbury St, left onto Davie, right onto Fayetteville to City Plaza where the group will disassemble. The parade will end by 6:30 pm.
2) Encumber the following designated parking spaces from 3 am on December 31 until 5 am on January 1.
A) All parking spaces on the 00 blocks of Davie St, Martin St, and Hargett St
B) The designated parking spaces on the north side of the 00 block of Edenton St between Wilmington St and Salisbury St
C) The designated parking spaces on the south side of the 00 block of Jones St between Wilmington and Salisbury St
D) The designated parking spaces on the 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 blocks of Fayetteville St
E) Both City parking lots in the block bounded by Lenoir, Salisbury, South and Wilmington St for the purposes of setting up for the fireworks display.
3) The following are the requested street closures:
A) The 100 and 200 blocks of Fayetteville Street and the 00 block of Hargett St will be closed from 9 am on Sunday, December 30 until 12 pm on January 1. The area will be utilized to set up a large ferris wheel.
B) Close the following streets and travel lanes from 6 am on December 31 until 12 pm on January 1.
1) The 300, 400, and 500 blocks of Fayetteville Street. A traffic control officer will assist with allowing access to the Marriott traffic circle.
2) The 00 blocks of Martin and Davie St
3) The 00 blocks of Lenoir St and South St will be closed for approximately 30 minutes around 7 pm and again at 12 midnight during the fireworks displays
4) All travel lanes of the 00 block of Morgan St will be closed from 7 pm until 12 am on January 1 to facilitate the loading and unloading of passengers from carriage rides.
Encumbered Sidewalks
The following sidewalks within and adjacent to the event festivities from 6 am on December 31 until 5 am on January 1:
a. The south side sidewalks on the 00 and 100 blocks of Jones St
b. All sidewalks on the 00 block of Edenton St
c. All sidewalks on the 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 blocks of Fayetteville St
d. All sidewalks on the 00 blocks of Morgan, Hargett St, Martin St, Davie St, Lenoir St, and South St.
The granting of these closures gives the grantee sole and exclusive use of the designated areas, including the aforementioned sidewalks.
