Throngs ring in year at alcohol-free celebration

By Ed Runyan

Riders on the WRTA bus offered tips on where to go and what to eat.

Two brothers from Kentucky amazed you with their juggling and human tricks, a married couple from Cuyahoga Falls impressed you with their bullwhip tricks, and the ice rink at the Covelli Centre left you satisfied as your children spent hours skating and playing.

And that was just in the first two hours.

Those are the things that many of the families attending First Night Youngstown learned Thursday night as they sampled the dozens of offerings at the family-friendly New Year’s Eve event.

“We were looking for something to do, and First Night Youngstown sounded really good, so we’ve gone skating, and next we’re going to the [Youngstown State University] planetarium,” said Carl Brockway of North Lima, on skates while three of his four children swirled around him at the Covelli Center.

He and his wife, Pam, brought friends with three children of their own from Ashtabula to the event.

The ice rink appeared to be among the top attractions in the early going Thursday. Scores of families paid $3 per person for skate rental and skating between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.

All events were free for the Brockway children, aged 2 through 12. Carl and Pam paid $10 each. The Covelli also featured Wii bowling, portraits by an artist, and a table where children were able to make noisemakers and hats to ring in the new year.

The ball dropped at midnight near the Covelli Center, and adult activities, like musical performances, took place at may other venues. First Night events also took place in Salem and Canfield.

Tina Vaupel and her husband, Kevin, of Fowler, brought their two daughters, Olivia, 7, and Ella, 5, to the Covelli Center first.

“My daughter’s wanted to go skating since forever,” Kevin said of Olivia. The family was at Rockefeller Center in New York City several weeks ago, but the weather was too wet for skating, so she missed her opportunity there.

“This is nice,” Kevin said. The ice rink was nicely filled, mostly with families.

Many families seemed to have the same idea: Start at the Covelli, then get on the WRTA bus to the planetarium or another of the attractions, or to find some food.

A word of warning, however, to families next year: When you get on the bus, have a good idea where you want to go and be prepared to ask the driver to stop at a specific place.

My WRTA driver didn’t stop at every venue, only when specifically asked.

One good thing about the bus, however, was that those unfamiliar with the city got a tour of places like YSU’s Williamson College of Business Administration under construction and historic St. Columba Cathedral.

Another good thing was that many of the other riders offered information and advice on how to find food and cool events.

One of those events was the Pickled Brothers Side Show, featuring Travis Fessler, 37, and his half-brother, Erik Kloeker, 20, both of northern Kentucky near Cincinnati. They performed in the Oakland Center for the Arts on Boardman Street.

Erik owns a Guinness record for juggling while suspended upside-down for five minutes, a feat he performed in Milan, Italy. Fessler and Kloeker entertain with laughter as well as skill, as Fessler tossed various items to his little brother to juggle, including knives.

Fessler’s claim to fame appears to be his affection for Madagascar hissing cockroaches. Fessler has the Guinness record for the largest number of live ones he can hold in his mouth at one time (11). Each one is about the size of a small mouse.

“Kids, don’t try doing this at home. Go to your friends’ house. No just kidding — don’t try this,” Fessler said before partially inflating a long, skinny balloon and threading it through one nostril and back out his mouth.

Another crowd-pleaser was the Black Lightning Wild West Show on the second floor of the Masonic Temple on Wick Avenue, where Richard Best of Cuyahoga Falls demonstrated his skills with a 10-foot-long bullwhip, which he flicked repeatedly toward his wife, Donna, in an effort to break foam targets shaped like candles she was holding without hurting her.

His best trick was when Donna held seven of the targets in her hands and mouth, and Richard hit each one in four seconds.

Best is a retired mail carrier who has lived all his life in Ohio, despite his knowledge of Western sharp shooters like Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley.

Robbie Gessler, 7, of Coitsville, who went on stage briefly to learn a little rope trick, said he liked the seven-target trick best.

When asked if he thought he might be able to do it some day, he said, “If I work on it, I can.”

His parents, Rob and Carmella Gessler, have brought him to First Night Youngstown each year, including his first year, in a stroller.

“This is a fun thing for children,” his father said.

runyan@vindy.com