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Happy New Year! Raising the Crown has become a tradition in Charlotte for welcoming the New Year!

Charlotte Dance Festival presented their unique blend of aerial and contemporary dance in the Atrium

WBTV news anchors Maureen O'Boyle and Paul Cameron led the countdown to midnight!

Spirit of the Lotus Dance Company performed a wide range of belly dance styles!

Walsh Kelley School of Irish Dance entertained the crowd with their traditional costumes and dances

Polymorhpic Plasitc Parade made Tipis from discarded plastic and locally harvested bamboo.

Spiral amazed audiences as she spun hoops all over her body, acrobatically flipping through them.

Resolution Balloons were the talk of the night! Release your regret of 2009 or your hope for 2010

David Garibaldi creates six-foot portraits of pop icons in minutes to music.

Try to resist Simply Irresistible, our First Night Audience couldn't get enough!

Simply Irresistable the Southeasts hottest party band kept the crowd dancing all night long!

Lee Baumgarten with the Cultural & Civic Arts Center of Pineville spent the day creating this art.

Simply Irresistable on the Duke Energy Stage was the highlight of the night!

Caricature Artist drew Charlotteans in their favorite places around Center City!

Sweetbriar Jam plays up tempo, bluegrass music, and thier only 10-15 years old!

Sarah Mullen, Celtic Harpest entertained audiences in the 200 S. Tryon building.

Spiral joined Simply Irresistable on stage contorting and acrobatically flipping through hoops!

The Gay Men's Chorus of Charlotte, a 30-member ensemble, sang a cappella and accompanied.

A show for the record books, the pyrotechnics show was sponsored by Wachovia/Wells Fargo

Charlotte's Art Car had flames coming out of the roof! A great part of our People's Processional!

Cheerwine bottles made great noisemakers for the People's Processional.

David Garibaldi painted Rondal McDonald in minutes to a packed house!

Kids could create their own Ronald McDonald!

David Garibladi creating Ronald McDonald with brushes and his hands!

McDonalds handed out apples to keep the kids energized!

First Night Venue signs made it easy to find all the different performances!

Ronald is pretty impressed with David Garibaldi's work!

The Silver Foxes even came out to to help ring in the New Year!

Crowds begin to gather to kick off First Night Kids!

2020 Kids was a hit! They drew a mural of what they want most in their center city!

The Magic School Bus even showed up for the fun!

We had music from all different cultures!

First Night Kids was sponsored by McDonalds!

Crowds Gathered for the People's Processional and the Kids Countdown!

2020 Kids lets parents play too, they got to tell us what they love to do in Center City.

The Hamburglar is having too much fun to worry about getting burgers!

Hardin Minor was our Grand Pu Bah of the People's Processional, kicking off First Night 2010!

First Night Kids is a great event for Parents and Kids!

Sponsored by My School Rocks, these noisemakers were a hit!

The Kids loved the storytellers, where they got to use their imaginations!

Kids gathered to watch magic shows and storytellers from all over the region!

From inflatable slides to mascots, First Night Kids was the place to be on New Years Eve!

Wilson from Fox News Rising's Wilsons World get the crowd excited for the People's Processional.

The band has the crowd on their feet dancing and singing!

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AN IMAGINATION CELEBRATION

First Night returns to ring in 2013 with a family-friendly cultural celebration taking place in Uptown Charlotte on New Year's Eve!

Artists, Dancers, Comedians, Musicians and Magicians will take to the streets and venues for you to enjoy! First Night Kids kicks off First Night and runs from 12-5pm with a kids countdown at the main stage from 4-5pm. First Night picks back up at 8pm for evening activities until 11pm and a fantastic midnight finale show from 10pm-12:30am on the main stage.

First Night is alcohol-free but attendees are encouraged to enjoy the local dining before the Queen Charlotte crown is raised to ring in 2013!

Download the First Night Kids Schedule

Download the First Night Evening Schedule

HAPPY NEW YEAR! Thanks to everyone who attended First Night Charlotte, stay tuned for more details in 2012!

Presenting Sponsors

A Lifestyle Guide to Charlotte’s Center City!

AN IMAGINATION CELEBRATION

Presenting Sponsors

© 2012 FindYourCenter.com

A Charlotte Center City Partners Event