One day in December a few years ago, local radio advertisements for a special celebration on New Year's Eve to me sounded weird and quite unlikely. They wanted us to wander around in the bitter cold outside and listen to amateur bands play and jugglers to juggle? No libations allowed!? Children welcome? Give up partying all night? Sounds like a bummer. But being an enlightened and adventurous sort of person, I entreated my wife and a couple of friends to spend the twelve dollars and see what they were talking about.

When the day arrived, we parked about ten blocks away and walked the rest. The weather proved to be one of those southerly breeze exceptions that kept the temperatures in the sixties instead of in the twenties which would be normal for this time of year in New Jersey. The main streets were decorated in creative Christmas and New Year themes - animated figures skating on blue glass, angels ringing bells of peace and hand made manger scenes filled the spot-lighted windows. Christmas music filled the air and every block featured some sort of street musician including mimes, balloon artists and groups of singers in period costumes.

At the first corner a sign proclaimed the presence of a real German Band inside. After a short wait, we were led into a large room with a stage where twelve musicians in German costumes regaled us with a variety of German oompah music. The renditions of old favorites sounded quite authentic, at least according to my wife who was born in Munich, Germany. A short stroll away, a Barbershop Chorus performed a medley of show tunes. This internationally famous chorus was entirely composed of women whose professional and entertaining performance was worthy of Carnegie Hall.

The children seemed to enjoy all the festivities and music immensely. Rosy cheeks were made up with butterflies and stars. Every child carried a colorful balloon and hundreds of happy families filled the streets. Since I enjoy progressive jazz, a sign announcing the presence of a well-known New York quartet caught my eye. A local car dealer donated his showroom for the occasion. Their spontaneous performance just knocked me out! Luckily, I came prepared with my video camera and recorded their performance for posterity. At five minutes to twelve, thousands of people gathered in the square to see the large steeple clock on the Presbyterian Church strike twelve. Fireworks soared over the town square, etching the scene in an other-worldly glow. Talk about a Kodak Moment! The cheers were deafening, and no-one wanted the night to end too soon.

Five thousand people were expected at this first of First Nights -- twenty thousand showed up! No party at an expensive restaurant at a cost of over a hundred dollars could compete with this formula -- good music enjoyed by good people equals a good time.

Kenneth C. Hoffman

A retired portrait and wedding photographer, I enjoy writing photography and how to articles, creating computer art from photography, bicycling and quartet singing. I also collect antique sheet music suitable for playing or framing.