Join in the First Night Fun

As we count down the hours left in 2014, it's probably about time to make our New Year's Eve plans... One event that's always on the list is First Night. The annual celebration brings between 10,000 and 20,000 people into downtown Tacoma to celebrate the coming of the new year.

It's an all-ages celebration that features live performances on numerous stages in and around the Theater District in downtown Tacoma. Musicians, dancers, and entertainers of all sorts will perform for the crowd - all venues accessible with the purchase of a First Night button for $10 ahead of time, or $14 the day of. Kids under 10 get to enjoy all the fun for free, and buttons will also get you into the museums participating in First Night.

Along with the wide range of musical performances, a few spectacles caught our eye this year. Of course there's the annual "World's Shortest Parade," billed as "A raucous journey of only one block that will take you away to a celebration of all things good and right in this world." How can you pass that up?

Other spectacles include Brides Blowing Bubbles - a Guinness World Record attempt to get the most people (male or female) in wedding gowns, blowing bubbles. 

Drunken Telegraph will be out there too, besides several storytelling performances throughout the night, they've also extended an invitation to their Port-A-Parlor Story Booth, where you can stop by and share your most memorable story from 2014. Stories will be recorded and posted as part of an online collection, and each storyteller will be provided with a copy of their story.

And if you're looking for one last good deed for 2014, we hear there may still be opportunities to volunteer. Commit to a few hours supporting First Night, and get free passes to the event, along with the satisfaction of knowing you helped make it all possible. Interested? Email Deb Llewellyn at pie.alamode@yahoo.com

Whether you volunteer, or just enjoy the performances, it should be another great opportunity to enjoy Tacoma one more time in 2014.