Saratoga Springs First Night

New York's largest First Night celebration with 14,000 guests will take place in Saratoga Springs this New Year's Eve. There will be 400 artists in 40 venues throughout the main part of town. First Night buttons can be purchased for $13 at the Saratoga Visitors Center, YMCAs, Stewart's Shops, Wilton Mall, and local Price Choppers throughout the month of December.

The opening ceremony and the first set of fireworks will take place at 5:30PM outside of the City Center Logia. The night's events are a family-oriented "celebration of the arts" and are alcohol free making it a perfect place to bring the kids. Buses will operate throughout the evening to transport guests from the YMCA and high school parking lots and between attractions.

Seating for shows is on a first come, first served basis so looking over the schedule ahead of time and deciding what you want to do will help make sure you don't miss any highlights. Write down backups in case you don't get into your first choice.

The Saratoga Soundtrack Chorus will perform a mixture of holiday, patriotic, and contemporary music at the Saratoga Hotel Gallery at 7, 8, and 9PM. The Saratoga City Ballet will perform act II of the Nutcracker at 6 and 7Pm at the Saratoga City Music Hall. Vinny Grosso will be combining comedy, magic, and illusions at the lake Avenue Elementary Auditorium. A winter wagon ride to Saratoga's newest art district, Beekman, will be offered from 7-11PM. The Congress Park Carousel will be open all evening for 50 cents per ride. The YMCA Pool will have a kayak demo from 7-9PM.

The 10^th Annual First Night Saratoga 5K run will start at 5:30PM at the Skidmore College Athletic Center. Since the race is limited to 1,000 runners, registration is now closed due to the maximum number of spaces being filled. Awards will be given to the top three male and female finishers. All participants will receive a commemorative First Night medal.

Be sure to dress warm. Nighttime during winter in upstate New York can get pretty chilly and you will be doing lots of walking around outside. Wear comfortable shoes and display your button where it can be seen. This event is a favorite with many locals. The Saratoga Hotel is the official hotel for the event if you are coming in from out of town. I have only covered a few of the events for the night so check out http://www.ymcasaratoga.org/firstnight to see what else is going on.