Inspired by Boston's annual First Night New Year's Eve celebration of the arts, cities across the world are finding a multitude of creative solutions to the conventional New Year's Eve festivities.

First Night was initiated in Boston in 1976 by a group of artists and civic-minded citizens as an alternative to traditional parties. Today, the drug and alcohol free First Night style of celebration has taken off across the world. First Night is celebrated in over 180 cities from Athens, Georgia to Sydney, Australia.

WNY United in cooperation with Rich Products initiated First Night in downtown Buffalo on December 31, 1988. Due to both the human resources and financial costs to produce this event, they made the decision not to continue it after the first three years.

In 1992, Independent Health, through its Independent Health Foundation secured the event and has produced it for the past nine years. This event is now thirteen years old.

The first few years that First Night was presented brought only a few thousand people to downtown Buffalo. Now, this event draws approximately 8,000-10,000 people from the city and suburbs to attend a wide variety of visual and performing arts, music and dance, sports activities and children's entertainment at numerous venues.

The Independent Health Foundation's staff work for a full year on this event in order to implement this drug and alcohol free event, which includes: securing all of the funds, hiring the artists/entertainment, selecting the sites, recruiting and training the volunteers, and set up for the event, along with cleaning up the sites the morning after. The process of artist selection alone includes sending out applications, review and audition in addition to meeting set criteria such as budget, program format and diversity.

Admission button sales generate only a very small portion of the budget necessary to implement an event of this magnitude. The Independent Health Foundation has kept the admission button price at $6 for the past several years. Weather is certainly a factor. Therefore, the generous financial support of the corporate community makes up the difference through fundraising efforts of financial sponsorships to pay for the entertainment, advertising, insurance, printing, technical needs and security, etc.

Volunteers are also a crucial component to the success of this event. Over 300 individuals assist in a myriad of responsibilities including pre-event set up, crowd control, site management, hanging corporate banners and checking admission buttons at the event. The loyalty of these volunteers is astounding with over one third of them returning year after year.

From the stages of Buffalo's Business District to the new Museum District location, audiences are exposed to a rich variety of programs ranging from big-band dance, pop, jazz, blues and rock-n-roll bands, to the performing arts like the puppet shows and theatrical performances. Dazzling attractions like pseudo-sumo wrestling, obstacle challenges and wild video dance parties fuel the synergy. Great classics, today's beat, cultural traditions and inventive creativity - First Night Buffalo has it all!

With the ever-changing business climate in Buffalo, the Independent Health Foundation has been able to increase the level and variety of the performing artists over the years to make this one of Buffalo's largest and most spectacular events for all ages. Despite the winter cold, they are warmed by the love for the city, and the common bond of a community celebrating the New Year together in a healthy, drug and alcohol free atmosphere. Attending and participating in a First Night celebration leaves memorable and lasting impressions on the audience.