Thousands of people are having to make other plans for New Year's after a popular Tacoma event was called off.
First Night, which brings together a diverse group of people to celebrate the arts, won't happen this year because of financial problems.
"It feels like we're leaving a little bit of a hole,” said Theater District Board President Naarah McDonald, who heads the non-profit that operates First Night. “And we've seen a lot of that feedback on Facebook, in emails, in conversations with folks. This is the one family-friendly New Year's Eve event in the city."
The all-ages event began in 1992 and offers free outdoor performances like the “world's shortest parade,” which is about a two-minute walk down the block. There are several paid indoor events with a range of performances including theater, dance, and live music. Most of the artists from Tacoma.
It's a $130,000 event with paid performers and lots of volunteers catering to about 10,000 people. Part of the funding comes from the city, part from vendor sales, and part from donations or corporate sponsorships.
This year those donations and sponsorships fell short because the production company in charge of the event bowed out mid-year, and the theater district had to hire a new company. They simply could not make all of those corporate connections in time to secure funding.
However, McDonald said they would rather be fiscally responsible than go into debt, which happened in 2004. They were out $50,000 and canceled the event the next two years.
By taking this pre-emptive step, the group hopes it will be ahead of the game and will plan to put on a spectacular event next year.
