Five….Four…Three…Two…One…Happy New Year!!!
Those words rang clear through the Creighton Community Hall Wednesday night as families welcomed 2015 with open arms at CADAC’s First Night Out celebration.
The New Year’s Eve party had families of all ages dancing the night away and ended with a balloon drop of 204 balloons at 10:30 pm.
“It was great,” said CADAC’s Tiffany Ealey, who watched as her own two daughters danced the night away.
“It’s non-stop,” she said, “and the little ones just go and go and go.”
This year’s celebration, which promotes chemical-free fun, was nearly a sellout.
There were just shy of 30 tickets left at the end of the night with 274 people enjoying the potluck supper, dancing, prizes and the end to another year.
“That’s pretty impressive. The numbers are way up from the last one,” said Ealey.
First Night Out originally was held every New Year’s Eve, but the long hours and dedication it requires from volunteers forced the event to be held every second year.
And just as families change and grow, Ealey says the numbers have fluctuated and changed over the years.
“Sometimes we have over 400 and sometimes we’re less than 200,” she said, pleased with Wednesday night’s turnout.
“It’s really neat. Lots of young parents who attended First Night Out as children are now bringing their families to celebrate,” Ealey said. “It’s become a time-loved tradition.”
Nicole Kendrick had just as much fun watching her two “dancing queens” at this year’s celebration as she used to as a child when she attended First Night Out.
“ It was awesome. My dancing queens had a hoot,” Kendrick said.
“They played great music for older and younger generations. It’s actually quite how I remember it as a kid.”
This year’s celebration was the seventh for Ealey, but she says the stories that made their way not only around the First Night Out board, but also the dance itself proved families still love the tradition.
“Lots of families have been coming for years and some are just discovering it. Lots of the families who just discovered it said they can’t wait to come back,” said Ealey.
Kendrick says she and her family “will definitely [be going again].”
For many families, it was a multi-generation New Year’s Eve as grand parents, parents, aunts and uncles helped bring in the New Year with the children.
The youngest party-goer at this year’s event was three months old while the eldest was 89 years old.
“It’s multi-generational,” said Ealey. “It brings different people from different walks of life together to celebrate a new year and a healthy lifestyle.”
More than just a dance, First Night Out starts with a potluck style supper to include chemical-free fun from start to finish.
The Flin Flon Aboriginal Friendship Centre and CADAC served turkey, ham, potatoes and gravy, corn and buns while the community was asked to contribute the rest.
Tables will filled with pizza, perogies, lasagna, fruit trays, salads and pasta salads, meatballs and much more.
“It was great,” said Ealey.
After supper the Silver Evening Star Singers performed a few songs on their drum to “help kick off the evening,” said Ealey, who was impressed with their talent.
Ealey’s favourite part of the night was when the lights were turned off and the music was turned up to welcome Mr. Squirrel – CADAC’s mascot.
“The kids just love him,” she said.
Between door prizes, spot dances and the balloon drop there were more than 550 prizes handed out Wednesday night.
As the night came to an end, Ealey says the message that “you can have fun without the use of chemicals” continues to ring in the ears of First Night Out attendees.
