New Venues And A WGBH Broadcast At First Night

By WGBH News

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Dec. 29, 2011

BOSTON — The nation’s oldest and largest “first night” New Year’s Eve celebration of the arts takes place this Saturday in Boston.
 
The 36-year-old event “routinely draws 1 million people into downtown Boston,” said First Night Boston spokeswoman Joyce Linehan, to see about 1,000 artists in 35 indoor and outdoor venues.
 
That venue list has a few additions this year due to new connections with academic institutions.

> > See the complete schedule grid.

“We have deepened our partnerships with colleges in Boston, which I think is kind of interesting because in years past the colleges really sort of closed up shop around this time of year and weren’t really available for us to form these partnerships with,” Linehan said.
 
That means more stages: the Boston University Theatre, New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall and Suffolk University’s Modern Theatre, among others.
 
For WGBH, the highlight may be a performance at one college venue that’s been part of First Night for a long time. Julian Lage, a Grammy-nominated guitarist, is making his First Night debut at Berklee Performance Center — and can also be heard with his trio on WGBH 89.7 and online starting at 8:00 p.m. as part of NPR’s annual “Toast of the Nation” broadcast.

WGBH members can receive a discount on First Night buttons. Learn more.