First fun for families

FIRST NIGHT SPOKANE organizers are bringing the kids’ activities back downtown this year. That means you won’t have to start New Year’s Eve at the Convention Center and then drag the kiddos on a hike into the heart of downtown for the rest of the evening.

Kids Night Out, the official name given to the First Night kids’ festival by area elementary students, promises loads of hands-on activities, special performances and the always-popular procession to Riverfront Park at 6 p.m.

“This year we’ve definitely taken our biggest leap yet in terms of Kids Night Out,” says First Night executive director Chris Martin. The event has doubled the number of volunteers working on kids’ activities to keep the littlest revelers busy. More than 400 volunteers will be stationed at venues throughout downtown from 3 to 6 p.m. to help kids make hats, drums and more.

“We know what we’re doing this year,” Martin says.

You want proof? Here it is: All of the venues catering to kids are connected via the skywalk system. Hooray! No need to put on those kids’ hats, coats and gloves on, take them off, put them on and take them off again, all the while carrying all those creations the kids are making.

Organizers also have grouped activities and performances by themes.

Interested in storytelling? Head to the Crescent Court.

What about theater arts? It’s all at the Spokane Public Library where families can see performances by Spokane Coeur d’Alene Opera, Christian Youth Theater and the Spokane Children’s Theatre. The STA Plaza will host the music by the Spokane Youth Symphony.

The old Burlington Coat Factory building – dubbed the Main Street Arts Center – will house lots of hands-on activities and performances. Dancers, singers and athletic performers will take over Room B, while percussion is the theme for Room D on the second floor. At the Main Street Arts Center kids can make their own drums or other noisemakers to use during the grand procession to Riverfront Park.

Local drummers will even teach kids some simple rhythms they can use during the procession, Martin says.

“You know, we’ll turn them into professional drummers in minutes,” he jokes.

In River Park Square’s The Hideout (entrance on the first floor), families can check out stargazing in a planetarium and kids can make an astronaut’s helmet to wear during the procession. Or, starting at 4:30 p.m. they can catch a magic show.

Upstairs in River Park Square, across from the Children’s Corner Book Shop, families can paint a ceramic tile that will become part of a public art project installed in downtown Spokane in spring.

At venues throughout the downtown area, kids will have the chance to make all sorts of hats, including origami hats and samurai hats, to go along with the First Night hat theme, Martin says. And, of course, to wear in the grand procession.

Did we mention the grand procession? A few minutes before 6 p.m. kids will begin assembling on the streets of downtown for the annual procession to Main Stage in Riverfront Park, where the First Night opening ceremonies will take place.

Bringing Kids Night Out back downtown is going to be a good move, Martin predicts. And because New Year’s Eve falls on the day many businesses are taking their official holiday, more families should be able to participate in the special afternoon kids’ activities because parents won’t have to work, he says.

“My 5-year-old thinks First Night is the greatest thing there is,” Martin says. “It’s great to watch their faces light up during the procession. They love it.”

And, as in years past, if the kids get wiped out long before the clock strikes midnight, there’s a special 9 p.m. fireworks show in Riverfront Park just for them.