Happy New Year! Salt Lake's First Night festivities will be at the Gallivan Center next Sunday

This year, New Year's Eve is on a Sunday. So the Downtown Alliance, which produces Salt Lake City's First Night events each year, has decided to hold the usual activities at the Gallivan Utah Center, but without spreading them throughout the city.

"We felt we needed to contain the event this year," said marketing director Andrew Wallace, "because the attendance on Sunday nights aren't as many as on other days. We played around with the idea of spreading out the festivities over two nights, but we thought it made more sense to put our efforts into one night and pack everything into the Gallivan Center. We wanted to give people a bigger bang for the buck."

But First Night is not in any danger of shutting down. "Each year First Night has been a success, but some years are better than others. Our attendance, however, has been steady.

"When we did First Night 2000, it was huge, because everyone wanted to be a part of it. And when we did First Night 2002, it coincided with the Olympics. Those were both big years for us. And we may not match that attendance, but attendance has been steady during the other years."

It was challenging to contain the events to the Gallivan Center, said program director/event manager Kim Angeli. "We're only having one big music stage this year. And that means we're having four bands. It was hard making the choices of which bands would be playing."

However, Angeli, who is working with the Downtown Alliance for the first time this year, said that once the bands were booked and the schedule was written up, she felt a huge sense of accomplishment. "After the decisions were made, the rest came pretty easy. I mean, Salt Lake City has such a close-knit arts community. If we needed dancers or other acts to fill in the spaces, all I needed to do was mention it to someone, and I'd get a list of names."

Wallace said First Night has always been about presenting quality performances for a family audience.

Some of the exhibits include the Urban Art Collective and a noise lab that is an interactive center for kids. There will also be ice skating and skate rentals (included with the admission fee). The First Night marketplace will also be up and running, offering food, drinks and souvenirs.

"Of course we have the fireworks," said Wallace. "We always look forward to the fireworks. To hold an event for families has been our goal from the outset 14 years ago. And we still hold to that idea."