Curtain Calls helps Princeton put aside issues such as parking garages and tax rates and focus on a celebration of the community at the dawn of 2001. The snow may have kept some people home, but 1,200 visitors still toured the 10 sites in town.
By: Pam Hersh
Raanan Moore, 6, of Princeton is delightfully suprised as he sees his image in a mirror during a children’s face painting session that was part of the New Year’s Eve Curtain Calls in Princeton Borough.
Photo by Dennis Symons
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PRINCETON BOROUGH Auld acquaintances may or may not have been forgot, but all the auld Princeton issues and problems seemed to be forgotten during the final hours of the millennium. At Princeton’s 14th annual Curtain Calls, comments about parking garages, building construction, taxes, master plans and less than masterful plans were usurped by enthusiastic declarations of how this Curtain Calls was "the best ever."
Produced by the Arts Council of Princeton and dedicated this year to the memory of one of its inspirers, former Princeton Borough Mayor Barbara Boggs Sigmund, Curtain Calls is a non-alcoholic, family-oriented, multi-site entertainment festival "a celebration of life and community, rather than a celebration of excess," said Moore Street resident Patrick Ainsworth.
He and his wife, Sharon, were among the approximately 1,200 area residents lavishing praise on the quality of the two dozen attractions at 10 sites in town and on campus, including Nassau Street with horse and buggy rides and Starbucks, which stayed open at the request of Curtain Calls organizers.
Even though program director Janet Stern said Saturday’s snow storm probably kept a lot of people home, those who did venture out found that the wind and bitter cold also stayed home. Instead, revelers were greeted by clear, starry skies with a picturesque sliver moon.
Maintenance crews from Princeton University, the Nassau Presbyterian Church and all the sites in town did a "remarkable job making paths and sidewalks navigable," Ms. Stern said. The greatest hazard came from a few flying snowballs, not part of the Curtain Calls program.
"I would be hard pressed to say what I liked best. All the music acts I saw everything from jazz to Celtic harpist to classic rock were first rate and professional. The production of "Amahl and the Night Visitors" was truly amazing," said San Francisco-based musician Jon Ivins, visiting friends in Lawrence.
In addition to the audio treats, there were the popular visual treats. The Art Museum of Princeton offered tours of the Art Museum’s collections, while caricaturist/comic "Harold" worked for nearly six uninterrupted hours sketching grownups and kids while making them giggle.
The finale, a multi-sensory experience, featured a sparkly flashlight procession down Witherspoon Street to the Arts Council headquarters, a big screen television on which people watched the Times Square 01/01/01 ball drop, and bagpiper Anne Witt playing "Auld Lang Syne."
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