Firing up 2005

The Downtown Alliance could have taken its theme for this year's First Night celebration from the Doors song "Light My Fire," because the event is "going to set the night on fire," according to First Night artistic director Brad Baird.

"We are using fire literally and metaphorically this year," said Baird. "We have performing artists who will be using fire during their performances."

Abravanel Hall will be the "hot spot" during the night, said Baird. "We will have a stage set up in the lobby where a Latin-American celebration of fashion and dance will take place all night. And on the Abravanel Hall plaza, the First Night attendees will get to witness fire spinning and juggling in what we are calling 'Spontaneous Combustion.' "

On Gallivan Avenue, just south of the Gallivan Utah Center, there will be a huge outdoor dance, with fire jugglers performing for the crowds, called the "FireDance Stomp," said Baird. "And on the Gallivan Center plaza itself, we have commissioned a fire-and-ice sculpture by Chris Coleman. It's an ice sculpture with shards of metal in the ice and fire shooting out of the top."

Also on the plaza, the Wanderlust Performance Art Troupe will display its firedance presentation, said Baird.

The headliner at the main stage is an electronica band from Tijuana, Mexico, called the Nortec Collective. "We worked closely with the Hispanic community this year, and they introduced us to some wonderful bands and performers. And we were amazed at all these artists that we didn't know about."

For the past 12 years, First Night has been presented in Salt Lake City, following the model set by such cities as Boston; Annapolis, Md.; and Albany, N.Y.

"Last year we had 40,000 attend," said Tracy von Harten, the Downtown Alliance special-events director. "It was on a Wednesday night and it had snowed. But people showed up. This year, the event is on a Friday and we're expecting more people to show up."

"As Salt Lake grows and diversifies," said Baird, "we are looking at a long-range goal of having as many people attend our festival as Boston, which is in the 100,000s. We do have some constraints, however: funding, the size of our staff and the size of our city. But we have utilized what we have to the fullest.

"However, we will be recruiting volunteers through Dec. 31."