First Night Resolution Exhibits and Events

Fire Sculptures
Sponsored by the Centre Daily Times
5 p.m.- midnight; Sidney Friedman Park
First Night State College Fire Sculptures will allow you to reach closure with the New Year’s resolutions made for 2011. Audience members are provided wooden pieces on which to write their old resolutions and then toss them into the fire sculptures. The Fire Sculptures provide a fun way to start 2011 with a ‘clean slate’ and warm fingers.

First Bells
Sponsored by the Centre Daily Times
Noon - midnight; Sidney Friedman Park
First Bells is a sound sculpture installation made of old bells and a gong. You can make a joyous noise as you ring in the New Year.

The Burning Man
Sponsored by Collegiate Pride
Noon - Midnight; State College Municipal Building Lobby
Inspired by the performance art festival of the same name, the Burning Man Resolution Sculpture makes his fourth appearance at First Night State College. He collects our wishes, regrets, and resolutions we didn’t keep. The Burning Man will live up to his name when we ignite him at 11:15 p.m. in Central Parklet. On his short journey from wood and fabric to charcoal, he’ll dispose of all of our loose ends from the past year. Designed and built by Carolyn Bryant, Phyllis Kip, and Pam Lautsch.

Edison’s Clothesline
Sponsored by Penn State Alumni Association
Noon - midnight; South Allen Street
In the words of artist Robert Villamagna:
During my teenage years my family lived in a row house in a small town on the Ohio River. The houses had been built for employees of a now defunct steel mill. The back yards butted up against one another and most of the yards contained clothes lines. The clothes lines consisted of four sections of rope stretched across two T-shaped poles made from iron pipe.

The hanging of laundry to dry had a strong social aspect to it as women talked across the yards to one another while hanging their clothes. In addition, you got to see all the neighbors’ wardrobes. I duplicated this design in my sculpture, replacing wet clothing with resolutions written on silvery paper discs. I used the white lights as a symbol of hope for the New Year. As the women of my home town shared news while at the clothesline, we share resolutions for the New Year at our updated clothesline. As my old neighbors could see everyone’s laundry, today we can see, enjoy, and learn from everyone’s resolutions for the New Year.

The Energy Tree
Sponsored by Green Irene
State College Municipal Building Lobby
The Energy Tree installation brings the community together to express creative ideas concerning saving energy and addressing issues like global warming. On recycled paper, the viewing public will write their solutions on how they can do their part to conserve energy. These written messages will then be added to The Energy Tree installation and become part of the overall sculpture. Inspired by this concept of conservation, the Pittsburgh artist Bill Godfrey will fabricate the entire piece from discarded cloths, scraps and recycled objects.

Resolution Mug
Sponsored by Home Instead Senior Care
2000 Degrees
202 West College Avenue
+ $ Dec. 31, 11 a.m. – 9 p.m.
Decorate a bisque mug that you’ll treasure long after your New Year’s resolutions are forgotten. 2000 Degrees provides almost everything you need to immortalize your new year’s resolution in ceramics. You provide the missing piece----the creativity!

After you add the creativity, the staff will fire your work and in a couple of days you’ll have a beautiful hand-painted reminder to fill with your morning beverage of choice.

$6 per person, with 2011 First Night® button. This activity is not appropriate for unsupervised and small children. Last seating on Dec. 31 is at 9 p.m.

Wheels of Fate
Noon – Midnight; Mayor Welch Plaza
So, you say you want a “resolution”? Well, spin the “wheels of fate” and find the answers to all your New Year’s questions. Will you be happy, find love, money or a new career? The wheels tell all! In Latin, Rota Fortunae, “The Wheel of Fate” is a concept in ancient and medieval philosophy referring to the capricious nature of Fate. The wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna, who spins it, changing the positions of those on the wheel - some suffer great misfortune, others win great things. Step up, take a spin and see if the wheel smiles upon you

The Wheels of Fate were made by Pittsburgh artist Bill Godfrey. Bill makes his studio in a refurbished industrial building in Western Pennsylvania near the banks of the Allegheny River. He considers this open loft space "ideal" for creating the large-scale banners, fabric sculptures and wood murals that he is known for.

Working with Alcoa, Bill helped design and fabricate a Children's Education Maze which toured the United States, Europe, the Middle East, South America and Asia. Bill has a long and extensive history of exhibiting his work. Clients that have commissioned pieces include corporations, museums, restaurants, hospitals, universities, churches, synagogues, art festivals and private collectors.

The Time Tunnel
Sponsored by First National Bank
Noon – midnight; South Allen Street
The Time Tunnel simulates a journey through the year, from the dark of today to light and optimism for the New Year.  Walking through the Time Tunnel, one becomes an explorer discovering clues and messages from different cultures all welcoming them to their new future.  Audience members will move through a series of experiences from a “confetti” storm to a wall of chimes and all ending in a glow of self-reflecting light.

Wish on a Fish!
5 p.m. – midnight; State College Municipal Building, Upstairs Lobby
You don’t have to be an experienced angler to catch the idea of fishing while fishing in the “Oceans Quilt”.  Audience members will catch a fish that contains their New Year’s resolution on how to save energy and help our planet.  Once the message is read, the angler will “catch and release” the fish back into the pond for the next fisherman.  All the fish and the fabric quilt were made out of recycled and scrap materials.