First Night Boston is America’s oldest and largest New Year’s arts celebration, inviting people of all ages to celebrate community and unity with a daylong festival of music, art, dance, and more. First Night 2007 starts at 1 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2006, and keeps going until midnight. It will feature more than 1,000 artists in 250 exhibitions and performances in more than 40 locations in downtown Boston. You'll want to watch the Boston Family Fireworks over the Common at 7 p.m., or the Midnight Fireworks over Boston Harbor, but here are ten other must-see First Night events. (See website for complete details.)
1. Ice Sculptures
A popular free attraction, First Night has five illuminated ice sculptures this year. You can see the artists at work all day on December 31 before the sculptures are lit at dusk.- On the Common: Oysterman, which celebrates Cape Cod heritage with a New England fisherman.
- At the Frog Pond on the Common: Cloud Dancer, featuring Pegasus from Greek mythology.
- Two are at Copley Square: Measure Upon Measure, inspired by the work of William Blake, and across the plaza: Arctic Wonders, where penguins and polar bears play on a glacier.
- And Northeastern University offers an 8-foot tribute to their mascot, The Husky.
2. The Metro Boston Grand Procession
A First Night tradition, this year’s Metro Boston Grand Procession celebrates “Life on Earth,” with dozens of participating groups separated into four sections: the natural world, the human world, the mythical world, and the wired world. Each differently-hued section is led by a different piece from the Back Alley Puppet Theatre and Puppeteers Cooperative, whose founders have participated in all 31 Boston First Nights. The procession begins at 5:30 p.m. in front of the Hynes Convention Center and then proceeds down Boylston Street, turning left on Charles, and ending at Charles and Beacon Streets.3. The Holmes Brothers at the Berklee Performance Center
The Holmes Brothers have brought their brand of gospel-inflected spiritually moving, funky music to audiences worldwide since 1979. They’ve recorded with Van Morrison, Peter Gabriel, Odetta, Phoebe Snow, Jungle Brothers, and Joan Osborne, and are known for their harmonies, passion, and musicianship. They can perform sanctified gospel, low-down roadhouse blues, deep soul, barroom country and pure pop—all in one set.4. Grigory Goryachev at First Church
A master of both flamenco and classical styles, Russian-born Dorchester guitarist Grigory Goryachev has created a style all his own. A world-acclaimed artist, he is known for his "blinding virtuosity" and "extraordinary musical sensitivity."5. Flexitoons, New England Anime at MCCA Family Festival at the Hynes
The Flexitoons puppets, best known for their work on Thomas the Tank Engine, combine an imaginative world of puppets, marionettes, shadows, sets, and black light magic, with smart scripts and music in their new adaptation of “Hamlin,” the classic truth-telling tale. And New England Anime will present the best in old and new Japanese animation.6. Carolina Chocolate Drops at Emmanuel Church
This group of young African-American string band musicians play Carolina Piedmont fiddle and banjo music, carrying on the tradition of black musicians like Odell and Nate Thompson, Dink Roberts, John Snipes, Libba Cotton, Emp White, and others. The group, which is striving to carry on the traditional music of black and white communities, has been under the tutelage of Joe Thompson who is said to be the last black traditional string band player.7. Mary Gauthier and John Doe at the Orpheum Theater
Country-noir singer/songwriter Mary Gauthier’s dark, mature songs use southern gothic imagery to tell tales of longing and redemption. She has been compared to such artists as Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, and Lucinda Williams.One of the founding members of the Los Angeles band X, John Doe is considered to be one of the most influential artists in American alternative rock. His solo career, launched in the early 1990s, marked a move toward country elements hinted at on later X albums. This will be Doe’s First Night debut.
