Communites throughout the area are gearing up to ring in the New Year. Places like State College are expecting over 12,000 people to hit the streets of downtown for their annual “First Night” celebration.

Of course the popular large ice sculptures will be there, as well as ice skating and comedy performances, but there’s new stuff too.

The 100 block of South Allen Street is shut down and the blocks of ice are already up, and ready to be carved for “First Night” in downtown State College.

Rick Hirsch, is a State College saxophonist. He and his two different Jazz groups are playing at different churches in State College in the afternoon and evening of “First Night”.

“The audience is really close,” Rick Hirsch, said. “It’s you and the audience, and people who are maybe not going to go out to a bar to hear music, so you have people of all ages and demographics who are coming through.”

Tuesday the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the arts is holding the annual “First Night” or New Year’s Eve event in downtown State College.

Of course the popular large ice sculptures will be there, as well as ice skating, comedy performances and ice skating, but there’s new stuff too.

“We have a belly dance clinic, we have a hop hop dance clinic and we have sort of a break dance kind of clinic,” Rick Bryant, Producer for “First Night”, said. “Also, if you want to come and out and dance we have swing dancing tomorrow night from 8 to 10 at the Hyatt Place downtown, with the Keystone Society of Swing.”

Hirsch, says as great as it is to have penn state in session, with the energy that comes from forty-plus thousand students, these times when school is out, are some of the best times to be in the borough.

“There’s always a lot of parking, it’s easy to walk around, you see a different crowd walking around, and our downtown here is a really special place, with great mix of all these mom pop businesses,” Hirsch, said.

Traffic will stay closed behind me on the 100 block of South Allen Street until 6 P.M. on New Year’s day.