Williamsburg First Night

We were looking for something fun to do to welcome in 2009. We had an extra long weekend, and initially thought of going somewhere warm. Instead, we wound up heading north to Eastern Virginia and Williams burg. As a child, I lived for a year near Roanoke, and had the opportunity to visit as a school trip, by my parents were unwilling to shell out the cash. I have been brooding ever since.

All was made well when we arrived on New Year's Eve. Through the magic of the Internet I had discovered Williams burg's First Night celebration. This comprised of a large array of activities taking place in various buildings on the campus of William and Mary, as well as Eastward into Williams burg. We had a schedule of what we wanted to do in hand, and set off, walking all over
the place to see what we could. Our very first stop was Bagels and Fraylox, a very good klezmer band. Klezmer is wonderful mostly upbeat Jewish music. I fell in love and bought a CD. We then went to the Matthew Whaley School, where we watched a juggling act, before heading over to the Williamsburg Library Auditorium to watch Suwabi African Dance. I love African dance because it is so energetically different from modern dance. Somewhere in there was also stopped by briefly to see Schnicklefritz and the Oompahs, where I learned I don't like that type of German music. Unfortunately, I still have the chicken dance stuck in my head, which they had also decided to play.
Here we paused for some food, pizza from some small corner shop I do not remember the name off. It was neat because it had dollar bills lacquered into the floor here and there, but the food was mediocre and left me hungry.

We continued out musical exploration by visiting the phenomenal Bobby Black Hat Blues Band, playing in the Kimball Theatre. I have never seen a man run about and be so energetic while playing the harmonica. And he did get down off the stage and run around the aisles. Accompanied by some swing dance students on stage, it was a high energy show and a lot of fun. From there we went on to see the far more subdued Rebbecca Davy, who performed on the Williamsburg Presbyterian Church's organ. Which was quit and interesting show. To top off our evening, before the Grand Finale, we headed over to see Williamsburg's Classic Swing Orchestra play, and to watch the dancers dance. I love watching people swing dance. I am especially fond of watching the older people do it, because they know just what they are doing, and can lead and improvise so well, even if they don't have the energy of their younger counterparts.

Finally, we headed to the Zable Stadium for the Grand Finale. It was very very cold, and after trying to stick it out, we left before midnight, but had a change of heart and returned in time to ring in the new year and watch the fireworks show.

It was a wonderful evening. What I find most amazing is that we didn't see half of the shows available. This is a great way to explore all the varieties of music of the world, and ring in the New Year in a family friendly way. I highly recommend it.