First Night

December 31 | Port Townsend

Ring in the New Year with Port Townsend’s beloved First Night, an all-ages New Year’s Eve party presented by The Production Alliance. This year’s theme, Cosmic Connection, invites attendees of all ages to experience live music, circus arts, stargazing, interactive art, history and art exhibits, fireworks, and more. Embrace the new year with a cosmic twist as we “Keep it Cosmic” in downtown Port Townsend.

Suggested donation: $10 per person or $20 per family w/children (no one turned away). Tickets for the Circus and Key City Public Theater events sold separately.

First conceived by a small group of artists and musicians for the December 1975 NYE celebration in Boston, the event sought to avoid the emphasis on alcohol typical of New Year’s Eve parties and focus instead on live and interactive arts and culture performances. Today, more than 200 cities nationwide host First Night celebrations. In Port Townsend, this longstanding and beloved tradition became a part of The Production Alliance’s Season of Events in 2021, after more than a decade of stewardship by the Jefferson County Historical Society.

Madison Street 

3PM – 7:00 PM – Street Open – Food vendors, face painting, fire pits and family fun!
3PM – Intensive Porpoises
4PM – Choir Performance
5PM – Intensive Porpoises
6:00 PM – Lantern Parade leaves Madison Street with the Unexpected Brass Band
6:45 – Fire Spinning
7:00 – Fireworks

American Legion 

3PM – First Night Circus
5PM – First Night Circus

Historical Society 

3PM – 6:30PM – Resolution in a Bottle, Puzzles and Scavenger Hunt