First Night 2021 Broadcast Preview
FIRST NIGHT HARTFORD 2021 ANNOUNCEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: December 23, 2020
Hartford, CT — For First Night Hartford 2021, the message is clear, Stay Home, Stay Safe, and Tune In. The region’s annual New Year’s celebration, will return with an innovative, ten hour broadcast experience on Thursday, December 31, 2020 from 2:00 PM to midnight. For the 32nd annual celebration First Night Hartford will be broadcasting on Hartford Public Access TV, live streaming on Youtube and Facebook, and hosting workshops on Zoom.
First Night Hartford 2021 will feature original performances by Hartbeat Ensemble, Nelson Bello and Friends, Chad-Browne Springer, Phat A$tronaut, Studio 860, and the Hartford Symphony Orchestra. The broadcast will also serve to highlight amazing programming created during 2020 from Hartford artists and arts institutions including the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, NightFall, New England Ballet Theatre, Connecticut Science Center, Hip-hop for the Homeless, Hartbeat Music Festival, Hartford Jazz Fest, Monday Night Jazz and a whole lot more. The program will also include reflections on the past year including pieces and discussion on the Covid-19 pandemic and social justice movements in Connecticut.
First Night worked with Pedro Bermudez of Revisionist Films, and his team to produce the 2021 broadcast. The filming for the original performances were filmed at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. The broadcast will be hosted by two amazing local talents Rosanna Karabetsos, and Zaawadi Kalema.
First Night is entirely free this year but the Hartford based non-profit is encouraging attendees to RSVP online here to provide audiences with the best experience. While the traditional First Night Button will not be needed to attend this year, the buttons, designed by Hartford artist Lindaluz Carrillo, are available for sale. Additionally, First Night Hartford has partnered with Hartford Prints! to create the First Night Hartford 2021 Party Kit. The Kit includes a coloring book, party masks, temporary tattoos, crayons, and an activity book with word search, crossword puzzle, madlibs, connect the dots, maze, matching, and scavenger hunt – and is available for purchase alongside the buttons on their website here or in-person at Hartford Prints! and Highland Park Market starting next Monday December 27th.
First Night is not complete without opportunities for children and families to participate in arts, crafts and more. This year First Night has turned to Zoom to host live workshops with local teaching artists. Expect to be able to dance and learn crafts from right in your living room. The full schedule and Zoom registrations will be on their website, www.FirstNightHartford.org.
The TV broadcast will be live on Hartford Public Access TV. For Hartford residents that have Comcast/Xfinity Cable TV, they can tune in on Channel 5 PUB or 95 EDU. For residents in the State that have Frontier Cable TV, they can tune in on Channel 6030 PUB or 6031 EDU. Anyone worldwide can tune in online via the HPATV website by visiting the link here. The broadcast will also be available on First Night Hartford’s Facebook, and Youtube channels.
The First Night team looks forward to hosting again in person next time around in downtown Hartford. There may be no fireworks this year, but they will still have a finale you won’t want to miss when the clock strikes midnight on a year most of us are looking forward to being behind us.
About First Night Hartford
First Night's mission is to broaden and deepen the public's appreciation of the visual and performing arts through an innovative, diverse and high quality New Year's Eve program which offers the community a shared cultural experience that is accessible and affordable to all. First Night Hartford, an independent non-profit, has partnered with Breakfast Lunch and Dinner, a Hartford-based community venture building firm, to coordinate the festivities.
