Pittsburgh Ready To Celebrate First Night 2015

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) –It’s New Year’s Eve and there will be plenty of activities Downtown as part of First Night 2015. There are about 150 family events scheduled and it all starts at 6 p.m. with a performance by an electronic brass band called Beauty Slap. Of course, no First Night would be complete without Cheryl Capezzuti’s towering puppets. They’ll be part of a parade that starts at the Convention Center, and makes its way through the Cultural District to the Byham Theater. With that many activities, there really is something for everybody, not to mention the sparkling, 1,000-pound Future of Pittsburgh ball to ring in 2015. Joel Kennedy has had the honor of pressing the button for the past four years. “It’s fun. I need to be dressed warmly and make sure everything is working beforehand because when it’s show time, you can’t really. Not much you can do,” Kennedy, a technician for the ball said. “The ball is made of aluminum and plastic essentially, aluminum frame, and plastic skin which is actually made from recycled components. Apparently, there’s some pop bottles in there,” Kennedy said. The ball also has 1,100 LED lights on the outside, almost 50 strobes and over 70 dimmable internal halogen lightbulbs. When the ball rises at midnight, the public will get to see a spectacular fireworks show. If the kids come, an early fireworks show is scheduled for 6 p.m. “We have the River City Brass Band at the Benedum. We have Cello Fury, Texture Contemporary Dance collaborating on a wonderful piece that will take place at the Byham Theater and we have live music on the Highmark Stage, also the Dollar Bank Stage,” Janis Burley Wilson with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust said. Some big national acts like Nashville’s Swon Brothers will be performing too. “It’s our big open house for the community. We welcome everyone to come down and ring in the new year with us,” Burley Wilson said. You can pick up your First Night button at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust box office for $8 in advance and $10 at the event. The Pittsburgh Penguins are also in town tonight. As a result, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust suggests parking on the North Shore and taking the T into Downtown for free. If you can’t make it Downtown, join us live tonight at 11:30 p.m. as Christine D’Antonio and David Highfield help to ring in 2015 on KDKA-TV! pittsburgh.cbslocal