Join the State College Area High School Thespians for a royal New Year’s Eve featuring some princesses and princes and a few surprise guests. Each will have a musical story to share and will interact with all of the guests at the ball. The program is especially suitable for children. A First Night Button is required for...
Shannon Bishop is the owner and director of Black Cat Belly Dance, State College’s only dance school devoted to the dances of Egypt. She has been teaching Egyptian raqs sharqi as well as the folkloric dances of Egypt for over ten years and performs across the east coast. She has studied and performed in Egypt,...
Guitar in one hand and his audience in the other, Lenny Tepsich greets children and they light up with anticipation. When he leaves, they never forget having met Mr. Music. He motivates kids with simple songs sung by children for generations as well as original tunes he writes just for them. In 1988, his daughter’s...
The Extra Miles is an acoustic trio from State College. They are three friends who find immense joy in making music as a group, and they love that they can help bring people together while doing it. Known for their smooth harmony and guitar driven style, you are sure to be tapping your foot and...
From a high school start in 1984 with juggling and unicycling, through a University Of Delaware Finance degree, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus Clown College, street performing in Europe and a year in the circus, Michael has become one of the most respected and sought after performers from the east coast. A...
Since ancient times storytelling has enchanted people of all ages. Middle-earth Studios’ kind of story-telling is an interactive celebration that brings out the kid in everyone. Anyone can be a part of our story and they costume up to 100 people from the crowd. For days afterwards you’ll still hear people talking about the show...
Longtime First Night favorite Rick Hirsch returns with his dynamic jazz quartet. Hear them play classic tunes by Horace Silver, Yusef Lateef, Eddie Harris, Bobby Timmons, alongside their evocative originals. Lancaster-based saxophonist Ryan Kauffman is a member of the Harrisburg Jazz Collective and the NakedEye Ensemble. Kevin Lowe is the drummer in the Zeropoint Big...
Central Pennsylvania has a vibrant singer-songwriter scene. Numerous venues as small as a coffee shop and as large as a multi-day festival provide the opportunity for both novices and veterans to perform. First Night State College is delighted to present some of its favorite signer-songwriters in showcase form. Each performer will do a twenty-minute set,...
Happy Valley Improv is State College's premier longform improv company, bringing the art of improv comedy to Centre County through performances, classes, workshops, and community outreach. Started by four improvisers in the basement of a church in early 2017, the group now consists of over twenty local company members performing weekly at their new home...
When Code Blue debuted in the early 1990s it was a trailblazing State College band that offered a mix of soul and blues, covers and originals. With the 1993 release of its album Stages/Then and Now, the band picked up the pace and toured regionally. It shared billing with Billy Price and Otis Clay at...
Robert Mac is a comedian and “motivational humorist” from Washington DC, a city that has a desperate need for humor. He’s best known as the Grand Prize Winner of Comedy Central's national Laugh Riots competition and for his appearances on NBC's Last Comic Standing. Mac has been seen on the stages of the inaugural Great...
The Quasi Quintet is a local young jazz band featuring some of State High’s best and brightest up and coming musicians. Their repertoire features jazz standards and their own original jazz compositions. Featuring Lake Black, the Hallacher brothers, Elijah Snyder, and Nick Letwin, with vocalist Nora Goudie. The band is making its First Night debut....
