First Night Attendance Drops 20 Percent

By Amber Lester Friday, January 22, 2010

Fewer people came to First Night Williamsburg this year, but organizers anticipated a lower turnout.

First Night is a non-alcoholic event featuring performances and entertainment for all ages in several venues throughout Williamsburg, before concluding with fireworks at Zable Stadium.

First Night sold 6,200 admission buttons for this year’s event, down from around 8,000 last year. Spokesperson Karen Peifer said she didn’t know how much the organization made in button sales yet; buttons cost $12 in advance and $15 the day of the event and some were given away, she said. Peifer said the poor economy and rainy weather contributed to the lower attendance.

Each year’s event costs are covered by the previous year’s button sales. On average over the past five years, First Night has spent $118,024 to produce the event. Assuming this year’s event cost about that much to stage, the organization spent about $19.04 per person; that would amount to an average of $16.89 per person since 2006.

The cost of staging the event has not changed much in the past five years, according to the nonprofit’s tax forms (available here), but attendance has decreased every year since 2006. That year, 7,800 people attended the event. Entertainment has cost an average of $63,705 over four years.

Despite being down 20 percent, First Night was able to cover its entertainment expenses this year, Peifer said. The organization will also be able to produce the event next year, but the entertainment line-up is likely to change. “We think we’re going to energize it by bringing in some new names,” Peifer said. “Every event needs to be re-energized…we’re not worried about it.”

While First Night was able to pay its performers, it might have to dip into its reserve fund to make up for its deficit. According to the organization’s tax forms, the reserve fund has decreased from $75,841 in 2005 to $51,702 in 2008.

“The preliminary figures look like we’ll kind of break even,” Peifer said. “We are not in the red; we will work hard this year to make our reserve even healthier, but the money’s there.”

Volunteers were pleasantly surprised to find the majority of First Night’s attendees were visiting the area, however. Just before the fireworks at Zable Stadium, Peifer took to the stage and asked the audience of 2,500 to raise their hands if they were from out-of-town. She estimates two-thirds of the crowd raised their hands.

She believes visitors to Colonial Williamsburg and Busch Gardens’ new Christmas Town, which closed Dec. 28, might have decided to stick around the city to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The First Night board was amazed to see how many out-of-towners picked Williamsburg as the place to celebrate the New Year. “Our board wanders throughout all the venues throughout the evening and we ask where people are from,” Peifer said. “Honest-to-God, three out of five people came from out of town, from Maine to Athens, Ga.”

The thousands of attendees were also well-behaved this year, Peifer said. At the organization’s recap meeting, Williamsburg City Police Sgt. Brian Carlsen said the police didn’t have any issues with the crowd. “When you remove the alcohol factor, everyone has a nice time,” Peifer said.

While Peifer is confident next year’s event will flourish, she said the organization could benefit from more sponsorship. “That is an ongoing issue that nonprofits have when they’re doing events like this. The same thing is happening to the Virginia Symphony and the Occasion for the Arts; it was not a good year,” she said. “We’re hoping the business community will help us in 2010.”