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FIRST NIGHT YOUNGSTOWN Family fun, fireworks and The Harry Potter Experience
By GUY D’ASTOLFO
YOUNGSTOWN
Downtown Youngstown is the only place to be on New Year’s Eve for family fun.
That’s because First Night Youngstown is the sole celebration of its kind left in the Mahoning Valley, now that First Night Canfield has called it quits.
Similar alcohol-free New Year’s Eve entertainment and arts events were canceled two years ago in Salem and in 2003 in Warren.
Dwindling attendance and an inability to attract new board members is what caused the Canfield event’s demise, said Richard Bowden, vice president of the board.
But with energy from some new volunteers, Youngstown’s event is still going strong, according to director Betsy Johnquest.
First Night Youngstown takes place in 11 buildings in the downtown area. A button ($10 for adults; $5 for military and students age 13-25, with ID; and free for children 12 and under) is all that’s needed for admission to all venues and to ride the shuttle bus that will make a continuous loop.
Streets will be selectively blocked off to vehicular traffic to ensure easy walking and safety. There will be fireworks at 9 p.m. and midnight on the Market Street Bridge.
As always, First Night will include swimming at the YMCA, ice skating at Covelli Centre (after that afternoon’s Phantoms hockey game) and light shows at the Ward Beecher Planetarium at Youngstown State University.
For young adults, there will be a lineup of live rock music at Soap Gallery, 117 S. Champion St.
One new attraction this year – The Harry Potter Experience – should be a hit with children and a lot of adults. It will take place from 5 to 8:30 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church on Front Street.
The Harry Potter Experience is the brainchild of Trinity’s new pastor, Kelsey Orosan, and is being put together with some church volunteers.
Trinity has always taken part in First Night, but usually as a music venue.
“I wanted to do something more family and kid-oriented, and our space lends itself to something like this,” said Pastor Orosan.
Anyone who has ever been inside Trinity knows what she means. The massive stone and wood sanctuary resembles a castle.
Pastor Orosan, who is in her first year at Trinity, recalled one of the first times she was ever in the church.
“I was walking through it with a sixth-grade student and I said to her, ‘Have you ever read the ‘Harry Potter’ books? Because this place looks a lot like Hogwarts Academy.’ And she said, ‘Yes, it does.’ And we kind of went with that idea. We put our heads together and made it come to life.”
They didn’t have to do much to turn the sanctuary into Hogwarts: some “floating” candles and green up-lighting create the atmosphere.
As part of the Experience, children will visit a series of storytellers who will make the connection between points in “Harry Potter” and the gospels. Each child will get a stamp by the storyteller, which makes him or her eligible to win a prize.
“There are books written about the connections between the J.K. Rowling stories and the Bible,” said Pastor Orosan, “including ‘The Gospel According to Harry Potter.’”
After leaving Hogwarts, children will then go into the church’s narthex, which will be turned into Diagon Alley, where the young wizards and witches buy their supplies. A series of booths will be set up there, where some items will be given away and others will be sold.
At the booths, children can design a wand, have some jellybeans and butter beer, and pretend to be a prisoner of Azkaban at a selfie station.
Covelli Centre will offer more than just skating this year. There will be several other attractions along the concourse, including caricature artists, psychic readings and a magician, plus the concession stands will be open. Skates will be rented for $5, or participants can bring their own.
At OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, there will be hands-on learning opportunities all evening and a lineup of entertainers.
Across the street, at 20 Federal Place, there will be The Kidz Zone, where children can get their faces painted (free if parent has a First Night button). Sally Haldi, singer and pianist, will perform her original compositions, followed by the Harambee dance group and a magic show.
Two churches on the hill above downtown – First Presbyterian Church and St. Columba’s Cathedral – will host a variety of acts and open their kitchens this year.
At the Steel Museum on Wood Street, there will be entertainment by Irish band County Mayo and Hispanic band Conjunto Riqueno, and the galleries also will be open. The Alternative food truck will be parked outside.
Other attractions downtown will include the Video Party Express, which is an RV loaded with video games; and the horse and carriage rides around downtown.