Come to First Night Austin 2010! Free!
On Thursday, December 31, 2009 we will celebrate our 5th Anniversary!
You are invited to play a creative role in transforming downtown Austin. The stage will be the city's plazas, parks, streets, storefronts, and building facades. Building, bridges and streets will be the city's canvases. Indoor venues will be settings for a palette of performing and visual arts.
So just what is First Night Austin?
First Night takes the ancient custom of marking the passage of time
and transforms it into a citywide celebration of our cultural richness
and artistic diversity. It began in 1976 as a finale to Boston's Bicentennial events and has
since expanded into a tradition that brings neighbors and communities
together in a way no other celebration could.
The concept of First Night Austin was created
by a group of community-minded artists in Boston who were ignited by
the idea of a citywide celebration of the New Year -- a meaningful
alternative to traditional revelry. It is a family-friendly,
affordable, and alcohol free New Year's Eve festival that celebrates
art, ritual and festivity.
So join us on December 31st 2009 to continue this cherished tradition for Austin that celebrates the culturally rich and artistically diverse place we call home. Together we will illuminate this city! So join us on December 31st 2009 to continue this cherished tradition for Austin that celebrates the culturally rich and artistically diverse place we call home. And
thanks to our sponsors, all of our First Night Programming is FREE.
(Only pay admission to First Night events at the Long Center)
Our Mission
To provide Austinites and Central Texas with a free,inter-generationally programmed, family-friendly and alcohol-free public celebration, showcasing the unique culture of Austin through expressive, creative traditions of performing and visual arts.
Board of Directors 2010
Dewy Brooks, President - is a program director for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. A graduate of Southwest Texas State University. He has served on the board of several Austin-area nonprofit organizations and committees, including Austin Circle of Theatres, the Austin Children’s Museum, American Diabetes Association, SafePlace, and Rodeo Austin. He also co-founded the theatre group Progressive Arts Collective (ProArts Collective).
Susan Sternberg - Vice President -
twenty five year career as a museum educator includes her job as
Curator of Education at the Blanton Museum of Art, The University of
Texas at Austin and Manager of Docent and Volunteer Programs at the
Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. She is a graduate of the
Hockaday School, Dallas, Texas and has Bachelor and Master degrees in
Art History from The University of Texas at Austin. Now retired, Susan
continues to pursue her interest in the fine arts as an art consultant
and as co-chair of the Visual Arts Committee at the Dell
Center.
Greta Goldsby - Secretary -
Michael Capochiano - Treasurer
- Michael Capochiano originally came to Austin to attend UT after
graduating from Stiyvesant High School in New York City. At UT, he
earned a BBA in Honors Business and Finance and an MBA in Small
Business Management.
After college, he returned to New York to be a trading assistant at a
hedge fund, where he worked for a trader covering index options and
futures. In 1994, he returned to Austin to work as a project manager
for local technology market research firm IntelliQuest. In addition to
managing research projects, he was also involved in generating national
press for the business.
In 1996, he joined a UT classmate who formed Central Austin Management
Group, where he was involved in managing and starting several small
businesses, including Ace Custom Tailors, Wrapido, Chango's, Uchi, Cush
Cush, The Belmont and several small commercial real estate projects. He
also opened The Peacock, and eastside cocktail bar. He currently is the
controller of Condor Entertainment, which manages Spider House, I Luv
Video and EcoClean.
Previous volunteer experience includes being a founding member of
Neighbors of Triangle Park (NTP), treasurer of the Hyde Park
Neighborhood Association (HPNA) and volunteering with the Boy Scouts
both in New York and in Austin. in addition to First Night Austin, he
also volunteers with his daughter's Daisy Troop.
Albert
Cantara - Immediate Past President - is a psychologist who has worked exclusively for the City of
Austin as Staff Psychologist for the Austin Police Department and the
Austin Fire and EMS departments. While at APD, Albert staged two plays
- an adaptation of Our Town and one original script that he wrote -
featuring officers and staff. Five years ago, he decided he wanted to
get more involved in community service and chose First Night Austin.
For the past 2 events, he has served as board President and is looking
forward to capping his tenure with this year's fifth event.
Lara Wendler -
Lara has spent her adult life in public service to the State of Texas. She has been employed with the Texas Senate since 1992 and is currently Chief of Staff to State Senator John Whitmire from Houston. Lara previously worked for Senator Carriker (Roby), Senator Barrientos (Austin), Senator Gallegos (Houston), and the Texas Department of Agriculture. Lara has worked as an advocate for Planned Parenthood of Houston and Southeast Texas, Texas Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs, and the Environmental Defense Fund. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Community Shares of Texas, First Night Austin Board of Directors, and on the Center for Child Protection's Friends of Christopher's Guild. She is active in Democratic party politics. Lara has a Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of Texas at Dallas. She was born and raised in Austin, Texas as were her parents and four siblings. She is married to Mike Martinez and has an 11-year old stepson, Alejandro Martinez.
Premal Amin
Susan Strausberg
Travis Rice, Artistic Director at First Night Austin since late 2008 was born in Texas and holds a BFA from McNeese University. Prior to coming to Austin he was an active contributor to the Houston Art community as Director of the Barbara Davis Gallery and many years at the Contemporary Art Museum Houston followed by a Contemporary Art consultancy in Sydney, Australia and Austin, TX. He recently curated the 2009 AV Swap Austin (as part of the Houston/New York collaborative) screened at Alamo Drafthouse, as well as joined the board of The Temporary Space in Houston TX. Forthcoming projects include a short and feature film, funding for a Museum of Video Game History, curatorial projects in Marfa, Houston, New Orleans and downtown Austin and brewing a perfect bottle of ginger vodka. These days Travis finds himself most often in Austin, Texas where he lives with his wife and son.
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