A jump on 2007

First Night Spokane has thrived downtown for five years, soon to be six. Does that make it, officially, a Spokane tradition?

“I think so,” said executive director Chris Martin. “After all of that rain last year, people still came out. We must be a tradition.”

By sheer numbers, this New Year’s Eve arts festival – part of a worldwide celebration in more than 200 cities – certainly qualifies as one of Spokane’s most popular events.

Martin expects anywhere from 25,000 to 30,000 people to attend dozens of events at 40-plus venues downtown. That’s huge by any standards and just about on par with attendance the past couple of years.

The emphasis this year is on improving the event’s quality, not quantity. One way to do that: offer free parking with shuttle service.

For the first time, two large lots will be designated as free First Night parking: the giant Spokane Arena East lots (south of Boone Avenue between Howard and Washington) and Deaconess Medical Center’s parking garage, 910 W. Fifth Ave.

Park free in either lot and a free shuttle will arrive every 10 minutes between 3 p.m. and 1 a.m. to take you downtown. These shuttles also can also be used to move you from venue to venue – say, for instance, if you want to get from CenterStage (on the western edge of the First Night area) to the Spokane Convention Center (on the eastern edge).

Maps showing the shuttle routes and stops are included in the programs that accompany every button purchase.

For a more adrenaline-driven addition to the First Night lineup, head down to Riverfront Park’s Clocktower Meadow between 7 and 10:30 p.m. That will be the site of the inaugural Snowboard Rail Jam, a regional competition featuring 20 snowboarders and freestyle skiers. If no snow is on the ground, organizers will truck some in.

One of the biggest changes in First Night Spokane since 2001 reflects a positive overall trend for downtown Spokane. Organizers are finding far fewer empty spaces to use for events.

“There’s hardly a street-level vacancy anymore,” said Martin. “It’s been a phenomenal transformation over the last five years.”

Fortunately, as several doors have closed, another extremely large door has opened up. First Night will be taking over the new Spokane Convention Center – about 38,000 square feet of space – for a broad array of events.

From 3 to 6 p.m. the Convention Center will be the site of the afternoon children’s portion of First Night, called Kids Night Out.

Then, from 7 to 11:45 p.m., the building will host the teen-oriented part of the event, Eleventh Hour. Six bands will provide continuous entertainment.

In between, there will be a break for the Masquerade Parade at 6 p.m. from the Convention Center to Riverfront Park and the opening ceremonies and early fireworks show in the park at 6:30.

The main event runs from 7 p.m. to midnight with performers ranging from Ben Preslee Klein and the Rockabillies (EWU Downtown Spokane Center, all evening) to the Spokane Symphony (Cathedral of Our Lady of Lourdes, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m.).

If gritty blues are your style, check out the Chicago South Side stylings of Emma’s Nasty Apple (Spokane Public Library, 9 to midnight). If you prefer something more spiritual, there’s a series of gospel choirs and performers all evening at the Lewis and Clark High School Auditorium.

Music is only part of the attraction. The Blue Door Theatre will do comedy improv at 7 and 8 p.m., and Seattle’s comedy juggling act, Brothers from Different Mothers, will take the stage at 9, 10 and 11, all at Central United Methodist Church.

One of the most unusual – and acclaimed – acts is Larry Hunt’s Masque Theatre, at 10 and 11 p.m. at Interplayers Theatre. Former Spokane resident Hunt has done his masque performances and workshops all over the world.

Cinema will be the attraction at the Spokane City Hall Council Chambers. The top entries in the North by Northwest 48 Hour Film Festival – in which teams wrote and produced five-minute movies in two days – will be screened continuously throughout the evening. Winners will be announced at the end.

Conventional wisdom holds that you can’t be all things to all people, but Martin said that First Night proves that saying wrong.

“We can do it because we have so many locations and so many performers,” he said.

Complete schedules, with descriptions of the performers, are available in the program and at www.firstnightspokane.org. An updated schedule also will be printed in Sunday’s Today section.

The evening ends with big countdown to midnight in Riverfront Park. Thousands of people will stay to watch the big New Year’s fireworks display.

Why would so many people stand outside in the cold? For one thing, it’s a tradition.