Abberly Place Blog

Sure it isn’t Christmas yet, but it is never too early to make plans for New Year's Eve.

Raleigh's big New Year's Eve celebration, First Night is celebrating its 21st year. This year the event is taking on a French theme. Forget about spending New Year’s Eve in your apartment in Garner, NC; grab the family, some friends or your significant other and head out to what is shaping up to be a fun-filled event.

The biggest plan for it is a 90-foot Ferris wheel, which festival organizers are calling La Grand Roue de Raleigh (like La Grand Roue de Paris, the large Ferris wheel found in the French capital). Could you get more romantic than riding a Ferris wheel with your sweetheart to usher in the New Year?

First Night in Raleigh all starts at 2 p.m., Dec. 31, with a children's celebration at the state history and natural science museums. Kids can participate in hands-on crafts creating impressionist paintings, making miniature sailboats and decorating their own versions of the Eiffel Tower. "The Owl Tree," an interactive sculpture, encourages you to make a wish for the coming year. There will also be circus performers, storytellers, giant puppets and more. A mini French film festival will take place inside the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. There will be a screening of "Madeline" at 4:30 p.m.

The People's Procession takes the party from the museums to Fayetteville Street for an early countdown at 7 p.m. with live music, fireworks and the descent of the Raleigh Acorn. There's a countdown, acorn drop and fireworks at midnight too.

Information from WRAL