BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
Staff Writer
RED BANK — New Year’s revelers will be able to ring in 2005 in good company this year. Plans are in the works to revive First Night festivities in the borough.
Red Bank First Night 2004 is being organized by Planet Connect, event manager for the Jersey Shore Jazz & Blues Foundation (JSJBF).
While it’s still in the preliminary stages, the event has a Web site — www.redbankfirstnight.com — where information and opportunities to become involved are listed.
“We are starting from scratch,” said Ronnie Schreiber, founder of Planet Connect.
First Night, an international event that is trademarked, was last held in Red Bank on Dec. 31, 2002. It was formerly presented by the Red Bank Alcohol and Drug Alliance.
“We saw this void in town and called the mayor and said, ‘This event is gone. Does anybody care?’ ” Schreiber said. “[The mayor] said, ‘Are you kidding? Just make this happen.’ ”
Schreiber explained that licensing rules require that the presenting organization be a nonprofit, hence the sponsorship of the JSJBF.
Planet Connect and the foundation collaborate on the Red Bank Jazz and Blues Festival, she noted, “so it works out well for all of us. We’re all in it together.”
Schreiber noted that the Borough Council must give its approval for the event to be held beginning at 7 p.m. on Dec. 31. After much debate, she said, it was decided to use 2004 rather than 2005 in the event title.
Approximately $50,000 will have to be raised to fund First Night, which is a family-oriented, alcohol-free celebration. Sponsorships and donations are being sought to help fund the event, including paying off an amount the borough is in arrears from previous years. The sale of buttons to participants will also help defray the cost. Schreiber said the price of a button hasn’t been determined yet.
“Also, we want to pay the artists,” Schreiber said. “That’s a really important piece of it.”
Representatives of several organizations are members of an advisory committee guiding the revival of First Night, including Red Bank RiverCenter, the Monmouth County Arts Council, the Red Bank Visitors Center, the Count Basie Theatre, Brookdale Community College and the Brookdale Network, Fidelity Investments, and the Monmouth County Office of Tourism and Economic Development.
Venues, entertainment and other details are still being worked out.
“We’re asking people for their ideas,” she said. “We will cover all the arts plus we are asking the restaurants to participate.
“We’re trying to involve as many folks in town as possible, also the churches, schools, library, whoever is willing to become involved,” Schreiber said.