Enlarge A young reveler enjoys First Night Charlotte. Photo by Lashawnda Becoats.

Posted: January 1st, 2010 Greg Lacour

Click here for a slideshow of more First Night photos by Lashawnda Becoats and Greg Lacour.

COMING SUNDAY: Tonya Jameson's video from the Xchange Stories booth at Trade and Tryon.

The crowds at Trade and Tryon streets were just starting to thicken on New Year’s Eve. Casey and Shavon Bolden, both 30 and married and with a baby on the way, were taking part in First Night, the annual New Year’s celebration in uptown Charlotte.

It was a special time for both, the last New Year’s Eve they’d spend before the trials and responsibilities of parenthood. But they noticed two other things they hadn’t expected: the size and diversity of the crowd around them and the feeling that they were in no danger whatsoever.

“It’s a safe place to be tonight. Every corner, you see about 20 cops,” Shavon said. “If anywhere, this might be the place to be tonight. To stay out of trouble, anyway.”

Casey: “You’re out here kind of intermingling, and everybody’s out tonight. So it does feel a little more like you’re involved in the community.”

Charlotte Center City Partners is happy to hear it. The organization hosts First Night, an alcohol-free celebration that offers performances by artists in indoor and outdoor venues throughout Uptown for several hours on New Year’s Eve. (Crossroads Charlotte is one of 18 sponsors.)

It started in the afternoon with a First Night for Kids, with events and performances at ImaginOn, Discovery Place, Spirit Square and Levine Museum of the New South.

Then came First Night's centerpiece, the People’s Processional, organized by Crossroads Charlotte. It's a loosely organized ramble up Tryon that showcases Charlotte’s diverse and growing population.

A few minutes before the parade started, Darrel Williams – the co-chair of Crossroads’ steering committee, along with Mike Rizer – grabbed a microphone and told the crowd: “This exemplifies what Crossroads Charlotte is all about – bringing together our community and celebrating the diversity we have as a community … and working together to be the best community we can be.”

He couldn’t have asked for a more diverse offering: white, African-American, Latino, Asian, old, young, middle-aged. A bagpipe group marched behind a Chinese dragon and drumSTRONG, a drum corps that raises money and awareness for cancer victims. It was that kind of party.

“It’s a lot to take in,” said 18-year-old Aubrey Barton, a first-time First Nighter who marched in the processional with her mother and younger sisters. “In cities, people are so in their little clumps, like, ‘I’m over here doing this, and this person’s over there doing that.’ It’s nice to see different cultures … It can be bonding for a city. Even though it’s a big city, everybody can come together sometimes.”

That includes children. Earlier in the evening, Rob and Lisa Rubin were standing in line outside Discovery Place with their sons, 5-year-old Matthew and 2-year-old Jonathan. This was the Rubins’ first venture into First Night, too. They live in Fourth Ward, mere blocks from Tryon, but had spent previous New Year’s Eves at home.

“Now that our 2-year-old is technically old enough to hang out, we decided it was time to come out,” Rob said. “It’s great to see people in our neighborhood coming out and enjoying stuff like this. I mean, you see people out and about around here most nights, but there’s a different feeling tonight. It’s a very positive vibe.”

The Rubins grew up in Miami, a city where you tend not to bring your young children downtown for any reason on New Year’s Eve. They marveled at how Charlotte’s celebration was festive, fun and energetic but family-friendly.

“Before, six years ago or so, it seemed like it was all adults (Uptown),” Lisa said, holding Jonathan. (The children wanted to have their faces painted.) “It’s so nice to see something downtown for kids.”

“It’s not just young people going out and getting drunk,” Rob added. “It’s like a real city. It’s kind of cool.”

Once 8 p.m. hit, though, the adults started moving in. At Trade and Tryon, Crossroads Charlotte and Center City Partners set up a booth for XChange Stories, where people did video interviews about what they planned to do to make Charlotte a better community in 2010.

Nearby, Marina Krizhevskaya and her friend Catherine Fitzgibbons, both 18, were heading into the life of Tryon Street, wearing their First Night buttons. “It’s something fun and interesting to do,” Marina said. “I like cultural events and having everything in one place.”

But there was more to it than that. Just being around other people, a lot of them, from all races, all classes, all backgrounds, meant something.

“With the Internet, that’s how everyone connects now,” she said. “So it’s good to have these personal connections.”

“Marina,” Catherine said, “I think you’re the first teenager in the history of the world to say that.”

“Well,” Marina said, “I’m very unique. So I’m OK with that."

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