Mardi Gras theme planned

The event will offer new venues and new performers.
By D.A. WILKINSON
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- Salem's First Night on Dec. 31 will be a mix of Mardi Gras beads, OhM and wild carrot.
The beads are being imported from Louisiana for Salem's third First Night New Year's Eve outing since celebration Mardi Gras-style is the main theme, said Bill Schilling, a volunteer with the committee and a scheduled performer. The beads will be available at the various venues.
First Night is a national program to promote the arts. Salem is one of six sites in Ohio this year, including Youngstown, Akron and Canfield.
OhM is a four-piece alternative rock band based in Salem. Wild carrot is the award-winning duo of Pamela Temple and Spencer Funk of Cincinnati who will be performing traditional American music at the Salem High School, the main venue for the night.
Other performers will provide just about every other type of music, ranging from Christian to classical to polka music. Performances will include Abbey Road, Northeast Ohio's Beatles tribute band; and Salem's Sugar Tree Alley Steel Drum Band.
There are 15 venues, each with a general theme for music or activities, as well as a midnight fireworks show at Reilly Stadium to ring in 2007. That will be followed by cake and hot cocoa at nearby St. Paul School gym.
Schilling said the overall program is a mix of the old and new.
Lots for kids
Children are welcome. From 5 to 8 p.m., the Kid's Korner will offer interactive and artistic events for children at the Memorial Building. Schilling said the program will be hosted by the Larwen Council for the Arts.
The Salem Branch of the Butler Institute of American Art will have a combination youth art show and cabaret.
The Masonic Temple, a newcomer to the event, will host the Stage Left Players and Salem Community Theatre presenting, respectively, songs from "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" and "Les Miserables."
Another new venue is the Kent State University's City Center, the former Salem junior high school it purchased earlier this year. Debra Wuliger will provide entertainment with puppets.
A new feature will be a repeat by popular demand from the city's Bicentennial celebration earlier this year. Vane Scott, who presented "The Many Faces of Old Glory" on the history of American flags, will reprise his program at the high school.
Events will be centered downtown or at the high school.
To get around, there will be horse-drawn carriages, the Quakertown Trolley and vans from the county's transit system.
The cost of admission to all events is a badge for 10, which enables an adult and children to attend. Schilling said that last year's attendance was "1,000-ish in badge sales, so with children, it was close to 2,000 in attendance."
Badges are available at First Night Office, 230 E. State St., area banks, Giant Eagle and the Salem Community Center.
Badges are also available online, and volunteers can get a free badge.
For more information, links to performers, and schedule updates, visit www.firstnightsalem.com.
wilkinson@vindy.com