What a joy to welcome in 2008 with my husband, brother and sister-in-law at the First Night Akron celebration! Even though this event has been going on every New Year's Eve for the past twelve years, this was my first time attending it, but it will not be my last.After a great dinner at the Otani Japanese Restaurant in the Merriman valley, we went downtown to explore a virtual smorgasbord of entertainment, all for the cost of our $10 button; even the parking and bus ride around town was included. My personal favorite was the Magical Theatre Company’s presentation of Bunnicula at the Akron Library. The comments of the little 3 or 4 year old sitting behind me during the play were as entertaining as the performance. There was certainly something for everyone from toddler to senior citizen at this celebration. My husband’s favorite was the harmony of the Akron Derbytown Barbershop Chorus at St. Bernard Church, and we all enjoyed the great rhythms of the University of Akron’s Steel Drum band.
We kept warm jumping around to the beat of “Cats on Holiday” as the New Year approached and welcomed in 2008 with a bang, blaze of colors, and the rockin’ sound of music from Akron’s WKDD radio. I had a great New Year’s Eve and didn’t even touch a drop of alcohol. It was enough of a high to celebrate with our community and look through the free 3D glasses at the kaleidoscope of color that emanated from the fireworks. I never realized that you could get such a psychedelic effect that way. If you have never attended First Night Akron, you might want to give it a try next year. I plan to make it an annual event.
Now that the holiday is over, I am resolving to be more organized and stay in shape. I make these resolutions at the start of every year, but I never keep them to my satisfaction. I also am making a new commitment to citizenship this year. I've posted my political resolutions on the Cosmic Message Blog.
Happy 2008 to all!
