Winchester festival to usher in new year on musical note

By Garren Shipley -- Daily Staff Writer

WINCHESTER -- First Night Winchester will ring in the new year for the 23rd time on Dec. 31, with a collection of shows, activities and fireworks in downtown Winchester.

The Yesterday Swing Orchestra, an 18-piece ensemble, will perform at First Night Winchester on Dec. 31. COURTESY PHOTO

As always, First Night is an alcohol-free, family-oriented affair.

A major addition this year aimed at the teenage set is the Battle of the Bands, said Kat Bronson, of the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber, introducing the event sponsored by the Youth Development Center.

"Normally, the Youth Development Center would do a dance, but as we have been told that's kind of passé," Bronson said.

This year, high school revelers are invited to judge an "American Idol-style" contest pitting the region's best young musicians against one another in an all-out fight for musical supremacy.

Preliminary rounds have drawn big crowds, and organizers expect significant numbers to turn out and cheer on their four favorite groups.

Bands will perform multiple rounds, including one in which they'll get helpful critiques from local radio personalities.

The battle runs from 9 to 11:30 p.m. on the steps of the old courthouse on Loudoun Street.

This year's festival will also have a mild environmental twist, according to First Night Winchester Chairwoman Sally Coates.

Smaller programs make for less waste. Recycling bins, rather than generic trash cans, will be set up throughout the downtown pedestrian mall and other venues.

City leaders want to try out recycling at large events to see if the idea will work at the region's biggest festival in the spring.

"If it works for us, then it happens for Apple Blossom," she said.

Also scheduled to appear for First Night Winchester are:

* Dinorock Productions. Lovable characters rendered with puppets and full-body costumes introduce children to the world of science with a subject sure to interest all comers, dinosaurs.

* Chris McDaniel. Back for a return engagement, McDaniel is a trick-roping artist from New York who combines cowboy-themed magic with roping and bullwhips.

* Andrew McKnight. Known for his unique country-folk sound, the Middleburg singer-songwriter will perform three shows at First Night, including selections from his current CD, "Something Worth Standing For."

* Yesterday Swing Orchestra. The 18-piece ensemble under the direction of Bob Johnson is a staple of any First Night.

* The Unicycle Lady. Billed as a "one woman wheelie witty wacky silly suitcase circus," the performer in this one-woman show transforms herself into a broad array of circus performers. A quick change of a hat takes her from mime to magician, to clown, to animal tamer and more.

Buttons, good for admission to all events, are $8 per person before Dec. 24 and $12 per person afterward.

* Contact Garren Shipley at gshipley@nvdaily.com