From the Office of the Mayor
DOWNTOWN DANBURY TO HOST FIRST NIGHT WITH NEW 5K RUN
Downtown Danbury will once again host First Night Danbury on December 31st come rain, shine, or snow. Events will take place from 3 pm to 8 pm at more than a dozen indoor and additional street locations throughout CityCenter. First Night Danbury 2009-10 is expected to surpass all previous years’ festivities with the addition of a 5K run and over 25 solo artists and groups who will entertain hundreds of families and children.
Mayor Mark Boughton said, “It’s exciting that our downtown will host a First Night Danbury celebration that is bigger and better than years past, in both creativity and scope. Our downtown is the perfect location for this community event and we invite everyone in the Greater Danbury area to make arts and culture part of their New Year’s Eve tradition. Additionally, I challenge all area runners to join the exciting new 5K race beginning and ending on the CityCenter Danbury Green. The race is a great way to start that New Year’s resolution to get in shape.”
In celebration of a December 31st rare Blue Moon, the 2009 First Night Danbury has adopted the theme “Once in a Blue Moon.” Ice Matters will return to Library Plaza to carve a stellar response to the theme, and blue moons will be popping up around CityCenter.
“Popular arts and culture have always been a part of our Danbury scene, from the Great Danbury State Fair to the Palace Theater, our community thrives on all that is enriching,” explained CityCenter Director Andrea Gartner. “We want to thank our sponsors for supporting this event and our efforts throughout the year. With their help and other individuals and businesses, we’re ensuring that there’s always something going on downtown.”
First Night title sponsors, Union Savings Bank and The Danbury Cultural Commission, as well as other sponsors including HV Sports, The News-Times, Webster Bank, BRT, Amber Room Colonnade, Newtown Saving Bank and others have partnered with CityCenter Danbury to make this annual community event a success.
The Union Savings Bank’s Galleria office building will host Auste, a well known Manhattan artist, who will echo the theme Once in a Blue Moon with a rare exhibition of one of her large scale murals, originally painted in 1987 for a Barney’s New York department store window. Auste’s artwork will serve as the centerpiece for various performances including Mecca Bodega playing African drums, Brazilian percussion, hammered dulcimer, and found objects.
Another new addition to this year’s event is a 5K race in and around CityCenter. Runners will brave the winter weather for an exciting race on the streets of our downtown. 5K Pre-Entry can be done on-line at www.Active.com until December 30th. Race day entry is between 1-3PM at the Danbury Arena. If pre-entered, racers can pick up their packet at the Danbury Arena beginning at 2PM.
With a new 5K run at the forefront of a wide variety of events and entertainments, this year’s program offers something for everyone no matter how young or old. The evening’s schedule includes the New Hope Mass Choir performing at St. James Episcopal Church, dance classes with the FairWest Swing Project at the Ives Manor, and to honor the history of the Palace Theater, which opened in 1926 as a vaudeville house, a series of contemporary vaudeville performances hosted by Sean Grissom, who for the past ten years has done similar honors for the Holiday Vaudevilles at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
Lara Herscovitch, named the 2009-2010 official Connecticut State Troubadour, will provide her skillful blend of contemporary/folk with pop, jazz, blues, Latin music, and there will be arts and crafts for the children. At 7:30PM, attendees will gather for a community parade to the evening’s showcase - a cookie and cider reception atop the Patriot Garage with a bird’e eye view of the fireworks finale to ring in the New Year.
Buttons can be purchased for $5 at CityCenter Danbury for entry to all events. For more information, visit www.firstnightdanbury.org or call (203) 792-1711. To volunteer, email firstnightvolunteer@yahoo.com.
If you have any questions regarding this press release please contact Andrea Gartner of CityCenter at 203-792-1711 or Ted Cutsumpas of the Mayor’s Office at 203 792-4511
