A good night for a First Night: Event sets attendance record

The weather was ridiculously cooperative on New Year’s Eve, and consequently, First Night Youngstown posted the best attendance of its 11-year history.

The numbers weren’t in at press time, but Nancy Haraburda, who headed up entertainment for the event, said button sales were way up this year. The prior FNY (Dec. 31, 2009) drew close to 3,000 people, and Haraburda said last week’s event easily will top that number.

Haraburda has been involved with every First Night Youngstown since its inception, holding a variety of titles over the years. She is also manager of the Youngstown Historical Center (aka: the Steel Museum), which was an FNY venue.

Haraburda said one of the most-popular new acts at FNY was Sidekicks, a female barbershop harmony-comedy quartet out of Pittsburgh, which performed at the Masonic Temple. Karaoke at Choffin Center also drew a few hundred, as did the Steel Museum, which offered tours, a railroad display and Play Mas steel-drum ensemble.

Because of the overlapping schedules at the various venues, no one can sample all of the talent at FNY. You have to have a plan.

My itinerary included The Deadbeat Poets, Father Vit Fiala’s string quartet, November Loop and guitarist Brian Henke.

I was well aware of how good the first three were but was stunned by Henke.

The fingerstyle guitarist doesn’t merely strum with one hand and manipulate the fretboard with the other. Instead, he coaxes all manner of sounds out of his guitar. He uses all of his fingers simultaneously, often with both hands far up the guitar’s neck.

Using nature as inspiration, Henke makes music that can be described many ways: new age, folk, dreamy pop.

But one word suits him best: virtuoso.

The Bay Village resident is also the founder and promoter of The Woodchoppers Ball, the annual benefit concert for the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, which takes place every December at The Kent Stage in Kent.

New Year’s Eve events in Canfield and Salem also had above-average crowds. Suzanne Heino, director of First Night Canfield, estimated attendance at 2,500, and New Year’s Eve Salem reported a turnout that topped 1,000.

CONNEAUT LAKE PARK SEEKS GRANT TO RENOVATE MIDWAY

Here we go again. Last year, Conneaut Lake Park won $50,000 in the Pepsi Refresh Everything online contest to pay for the renovation of the Blue Streak roller coaster.

The park is back in the contest this month, seeking to win another $50,000 to fix up the midway. It is asking everyone to vote daily — beginning today — at refresheverything.com/conneautlakeparkmidway. There is no cost to vote. The project needs all the votes it can muster to make sure it finishes in the money. The contest ends at the end of the month.

Anyone who’s been to Conneaut lately knows the midway is in sorry shape. A devastating fire several years ago destroyed the giant Dreamland Ballroom, which sat at the end of the midway, and at least half of the midway.

A few stalls and stores still are open, but most of it is just sitting there in a state of decay, the signs of fire still visible.

Tree roots are cracking the pavement, and the roof on the old Ultimate Trip fun-house building has collapsed.

If Conneaut wins the grant, it will install planters, refurbish the walkways, spruce up the building facades and light fixtures and reconstruct the fun house, according to Juanita Hampton, director of the Crawford County, Pa., tourism bureau.

All work will be completed by the opening of the 2011 season.

YOUNGSTOWN’s APRIL NEVELS TO SING AT CANADA’s MLK EVENT

April Nevels of the Youngstown-based and internationally known gospel group The Nevels Sisters will perform at Canada’s national Martin Luther King Day celebration Jan. 17. Nevels, whose 2010 solo debut album “Krazy Praize” featured “Jesus You Are” and the title track, will perform at the Government Conference Centre in Ottawa, Ontario.

Her three-day Canadian tour also will include a performance at the U.S. Embassy as well as live appearances on CHRI 99.1 FM’s weekly radio show “Gospel Groove” as well as other media appearances.