Early New Year

slacker · December 29, 2006

Irregular News for 12.29.06

Salt Lake City, UT -- When Kim Angeli started planning Salt Lake City's First Night 2007, she knew she wasn't going to move it from Sunday evening.

Even though crowds drop significantly when New Year's Eve falls on Sunday - last year 30,000 people showed up but she anticipates about 10,000 this year - New Year's is a "time-based" holiday, she said.

"New Year's isn't quite the holiday you want to move around," she said. "Its significance lies in a precise time."

Organizers in other cities around the state disagree.

Both Provo and St. George are holding their celebrations on Saturday night, mainly to acknowledge reverence for the Sabbath that prevents members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from engaging in revelry on Sunday.

LDS Church President Gordon B. Hinckley will provide an alternative by speaking at a youth fireside at 6 p.m. Sunday in the LDS Conference Center auditorium.

Even though Salt Lake's celebration is Sunday, the church is hosting a series of musical events at Temple Square on Saturday night that it bills as "First Night festivities."

Scott Henderson, assistant director with Provo Parks and Recreation, doesn't think holding the event on Saturday will "lessen the spirit" of his city's First Night event.

"Everybody starts early in the month wishing people happy holidays and New Year's,"

Henderson said, adding this is the first year the event will be indoors, at the Provo Towne Centre Mall. "All of the activities and excitement, whether or not it's New Year's, will dictate the spirit of the event."

Marc Mortensen, event coordinator for First Night St. George, agrees, predicting St. George's 24 venues spanning six blocks will draw crowds.

"We wanted to hold the event when the most people will attend," Mortensen said. "It would sure be a disappointment if only a couple thousand people attended when we anticipated upward of 15,000."

Ogden isn't holding an event this year because funding was cut from the city's budget three years ago. However, the city will keep its free Christmas Village - an outdoor area with 48 small cottages with scenes inside them - open through the night of New Year's Day.

For those celebrating New Year's Eve at a Utah restaurant or bar, state liquor laws will not affect midnight toasts.

Restaurants can serve liquor until midnight, while private clubs and taverns can serve until 1 a.m., said Neil Cohen, alcohol beverage compliance specialist with the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

"There won't be any special changes because of the holiday being a Sunday," he said.

But there will be changes to Salt Lake City's event.

Angeli said she is trying to create a "fresh, different" First Night celebration to help draw in Sunday crowds.

This year, the event will take place at Gallivan Center in a "First Night World" with several tents and venues in a smaller space.

"We are utilizing a space that is smaller, so people can catch all of the acts in a smaller area," she said. "We hope people can go down to Provo for Saturday activities, but we in Salt Lake want to cater to people who want to come out on a Sunday."

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