Winning button design chosen for First Night Youngstown

By GUY D’ASTOLFO

dastolfo@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

JoAnn Buzulencia is the winner of the First Night Youngstown button design competition.

The North Jackson woman’s art depicts the ornate front doors of the YWCA building on Rayen Avenue, with a light radiating warm light below and fireworks reflected in the window above.

The art will be reproduced on the thousands of admission buttons and advertising for the event.

First Night is the annual family-oriented New Year’s Eve celebration downtown that includes an eclectic entertainment lineup at several locations.

Buzulencia wins $50 plus First Night admission buttons for her family, said Betsy Johnquest, event coordinator.

This year’s competition was the third in a series in which artists must depict a historical downtown building. This year, it was the YWCA building.

The art will grace the rectangular buttons, which are only a few inches long. The buttons are $10 ($5 for senior citizens and children age 13 through college) and will be sold at locations throughout the Mahoning Valley and at firstnightyoungstownoh.com. They will also be sold at every venue the night of the event.

Entertainment includes live music and dance, children’s interactive projects, ice skating at Covelli Centre, fireworks and a ball drop at midnight.

Buzulencia, who recently retired from the YWCA as development office assistant, is an artist and photographer whose work has been accepted in juried shows, including the Area Artists Annual Exhibition at the Butler Institute of American Art.

“The design began with a photo that I took of the front entrance early one evening upon returning from taking a class at YSU with the Over-60 program,” Buzulencia said. “I carry my camera with me nearly all the time, and the light on the front door caught my attention.

“When I heard about the call for entries [for a First Night button], the photo of the front door immediately came to mind. I tried to highlight its beauty and unique/historic details.”

Buzulencia enjoys attending art workshops to learn new techniques. Her favorite is the weeklong Cheerio Calligraphy Retreat in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, which she has attended 12 times.

Last year, she attended a four-day photo workshop at Yosemite National Park in California.