Thrive [ Persona ] An Artsy New Year December 2006

by Dan Shafer
Images by R. Byrne

A new Board President and Executive Director tackle their first full event to support expanded outreach program as the City of Monterey plays a key supporting role.

In most cities in the United States, New Year’s Eve conjures up images of free-flowing champagne, loud parties, dancing to the wee hours, and, not infrequently, plenty of mischief and violence to keep local law enforcement on overtime watch.

That’s because most cities, unlike Monterey, don’t have a First Night celebration of the passage of the old year into the new. First Night, an idea that originated with the country’s bicentennial in 1976 in Boston, makes its 14th annual appearance in Monterey this New Year’s Eve. This year’s event features a few new wrinkles, a new Executive Director at the helm, a new Board President to help oversee things, and a lot of new musical and artistic talent.

This year, First Night celebrations will be held in 112 cities in 28 states as well as in Auckland, New Zealand, and Whistler, B.C., Canada. All of the events have two things in common: they are free of alcoholic beverages and they are designed to be a way of supporting local arts programs. And if this year is anything like recent years in Monterey, some 30-40,000 revelers will fill the area around Old Monterey from the Conference Center to the end of Alvarado Street as well as Calle Principal and Customs House Plaza. This year’s theme is “Rhythm and Hues.”

Celebrants who buy a button gain access to the 90% of the event that takes place at more than two dozen indoor venues. They will also be able to take dance lessons, get henna tattoos, have their faces painted, attend a magic show, and enjoy a wide variety of music and dance. For those who want a more engaged experience, there are opportunities to make a hat, beat a drum, wish upon a star, and write down their hopes and dreams on a “Resolution Sculpture.”

Dozens of food vendors make it difficult to choose what’s for dinner, and there’s dancing under the stars. As the night draws to an end, of course, there is the countdown and noisemakers in Customs House Plaza.

“It takes over 300 volunteers to stage First Night Monterey,” says the organization’s Board of Directors President, Bill Wiltschko. This marks Wiltschko’s first year as head of the board on which he has served for three years in various capacities. He took over the job from long-time Board President Susan Britton. “It’s just a massive undertaking. We’ve been truly blessed; there just isn’t any better word for it. Every year we have so many people who step up and volunteer to help put on the event. It’s just terrific.”

This year marks the first event with which the group’s newest Executive Director, Ellen Martin, will have worked from the beginning. She was hired in time to get involved in some of the marketing and promotions and the logistical work for the 2006 celebration, but this is her first time to be charged with the entire project. “She’s been amazing,” says Wiltschko. “She is energetic, hard-working, and really passionate about First Night.”

Key Role of the City
Both Wiltschko and Martin are quick to point out that a great deal of the credit for the success of First Night goes to the City of Monterey. Retiring Mayor Dan Albert has been a major supporter of First Night for all 14 years of its existence in the city, says Wiltschko. “He’s volunteered from the beginning and he’s always an emcee at the historic Golden Gate Theatre during the event,” he says.

Not only does the City provide substantial funding for the program, but Martin points out that it goes out of its way to make other City resources available. This includes City buildings, the Conference Center, police and fire personnel, and many other services. In fact, First Night rents the City-owned Archer Community Center for its office and workspace.

The depth of the City’s commitment to First Night can perhaps best be described by a story. Three years ago, a big-name entertainment group approached the City about holding a New Year’s Eve party in Customs House Plaza in conjunction with one of the local hotels. The City asked First Night if it could find an alternative location for the focal point of its celebration. Paulette Lynch, who had founded First Night Monterey and been its first Executive Director, worked with the Board of Directors and identified two alternatives. But before they were forced to make a decision, the City changed its mind.

“They chose to forego about a million dollars in revenue in order to keep First Night the kind of event they wanted to see in town on New Year’s Eve,” Wiltschko remembers.

Of course, the City also benefits from having First Night. In addition to the intangible value of hosting a family-friendly celebration of the Arts in a community with a strong arts component, local law enforcement is delighted that there has been only one minor incident in the entire time that First Night has been held. While the value of that is hard to estimate, Wiltschko points out that when Santa Cruz’ First Night program shut down a couple of years ago, that city’s next New Year’s Eve was marked by a considerable increase in police incidents and arrests.

This Year’s Changes
The primary change First Night attendees will notice this year is that there are two buttons instead of one. In past years, there was only one class of button and the price was the same for children and adults. This year, the group decided to restructure its buttons and pricing to provide even greater encouragement for families to attend.

Youth Buttons are available for young people 5-15 years of age (5 and under are free). They are priced at $10 until December 16, $12 from December 17-30 and $15 on New Year’s Eve. Adult buttons are $12 until December 16, $15 from December 17-30 and $20 on the day of the event. Special family packs of two adult and two youth buttons are available only through the First Night website (www.firstnightmonterey.org). Other ticket outlets for non-package purchases are at Safeway and Longs Drug stores in Monterey County, Bay Books in downtown Monterey, Borders Books and Music in Sand City, and the Rite Aid stores in the Del Monte Center and the Country Club Gate center.

The organization has also placed a much greater emphasis this year on making the event appeal to the Latino communities in and around Monterey, increasing the number of Latin music and art exhibitors, plus seeking out bilingual performers, emcees and volunteers. “About 25-30% of our acts are new this year,” Wiltschko points out, “and a lot of those are aimed at the Latino audience.”

To pull off an event that appeals to such a broad range of attendees, First Night Monterey must reach out to, recruit and schedule approximately 60 musicians, bands, performers, and visual artists. “We have to reach out to the arts community in all its rich diversity of style, ethnicity, and media forms,” Wiltschko says. “We have jazz, classical, and Latin and Asian musicians and artists participating in the event. We spend a lot of time every year looking for new and more diverse talent and interests.”

Besides grants and other non-profit funding sources and the New Year’s Eve event itself, First Night stages a gala every year to bring in more money. This year’s event was held December 2 at Carmel Plaza and was a joint undertaking of First Night Monterey and the Monterey County Symphony.

A “Festival of Trees” in which local businesses and organizations decorate trees which are then auctioned off was the highlight of the event. In addition, various contributed items were auctioned off at live and silent auctions throughout the evening.

Outreach Program
First Night Monterey consists of more than the New Year’s Eve celebration, Martin says. “We support a year-round arts outreach program aimed primarily at the youth of the County. We supply artists, project ideas, and materials to schools, recreational groups, and other organizations. The works they create are then featured at the New Year’s Eve celebration and other places where they can be seen and recognized for their talents and contributions.”

This year, for example, an exhibit of two of the youngsters’ art projects from the 2006 celebration were placed on display for several weeks at the Monterey County Airport. In all, more than 1,000 families benefit from participation in the outreach program, dubbed First Night Works.

Funding for the celebration comes from ticket sales, vendor fees, and First Night sponsors, while the outreach projects are funded by local and regional foundations. Besides the City of Monterey, other major First Night sponsors include Monterey County Bank, Comcast, Del Monte Shopping Center, Granite Construction, and the Monterey County Herald. Foundation grants have been provided by the Monterey Peninsula Foundation, the Community Foundation, the Hardin Foundation, and the Arts Council of Monterey County.

In addition to the 300 volunteers who show up to work the event in a variety of capacities, First Night Monterey also boasts an active Board of Directors and a hands-on Steering Committee. Wiltschko said that the Board exercises general and financial oversight of the event and the outreach project but the bulk of the work related to planning, organizing and managing the event and related activities falls to the half-dozen or so regular members of the Steering Committee.

“During the last few months before the event, we may have a dozen or more people who put in incredibly long hours and manage a myriad of details. There are a lot of moving parts to making something like this happen; without the Steering Committee, we just wouldn’t get them all done.”

Most people who are involved with First Night Monterey start out as volunteers. Wiltschko, himself, for example, first volunteered with the organization in 1999 for the 2000 celebration.

“I got involved in button sales, which turned out to be a much bigger job than I’d imagined. After about four years as a member of the Steering Committee and a volunteer, I was invited to join the Board.”

But he says the real driving force being his early involvement with First Night was his two sons.

“They just love First Night. They look forward to volunteering every year and every year they want to do more and more.”

This year’s “Rhythm and Hues” theme has led to the creation of a young peoples’ mascot named Huey. Wiltschko’s younger son wants to get a costume and play the mascot in the parade and throughout the event.

“You can’t buy that kind of commitment and engagement with the kids,” says Wiltschko.°