Other cities have been doing this for some time, and now Austin is holding its first First Night, which will turn the downtown area into a big arts festival on new year’s eve.
I’m going to be a performer—there will be a total of five fire troupes (including Sangre del Sol, who are amazing, and our own troupe, which we are calling Pyrogenesis) performing at Auditorium Shores, in front of the skeleton of the old Palmer events center. The fire extravaganza will supposedly be running from 8:00 to 11:00 PM (add N minutes to allow for disorganization); our troupe is smack in the middle.
Every time I mention First Night to friends, they say “wha…?â€. I’m sure this blog entry will make up for the paucity of publicity the event has been getting.
I’m hoping to catch the Freddie Steady Five show at the Paramount that night. If you like Texas garage rock, stuff like I Fought the Law and Dirty Water, I recommend them.
Thanks for the heads up. I think there will be shuttles running all around downtown. I’ll try to head over your way too.