First Night North Issues Annual Call to Artists

ST. JOHNSBURY – First Night North is accepting online applications now for family-friendly acts who’d like to perform Saturday, Dec. 31, as part of St. Johnsbury’s New Year’s Eve performing arts festival.

While First Night North relies year after year on a few tried-and-true acts, organizers make room for new performances and have a history of adapting on the fly to unforeseen circumstances. COVID-related challenges have been unprecedented, but First Night North has never canceled, managing a full eight hours of family-friendly entertainment.

First-time and former First Night North artist candidates are welcome to apply now for a spot in this year’s line-up. Applicants are asked to familiarize themselves with the following guidelines before filling out the online application in its entirety. Act content must be suitable for all ages. Artists may apply to perform one or two 45-minute sets. Artists are not required to perform two sets, (nor is First Night required to book two sets), but artists interested in doing so must indicate whether both sets will be identical or substantially different.

Formerly known as First Night St. Johnsbury, First Night North began in 1993 and was modeled after Burlington’s First Night festival. Attendance declined sharply in 2017 due to record-breaking cold temperatures, and the entire festival went online in 2020 due to COVID. Nevertheless, First Night North is planning its 30th festival. The deadline to apply is September 15. The First Night North Committee will make decisions based on act variety, venue availability and overall budget, and plan to notify applicants of their decision by October 1. To apply for one or two 45-minute performance slots at First Night North in St. Johnsbury on Saturday, December 31, use the following link to fill out the online form in its entirety by September 15: forms.gle/YycD3rvg7GHbnd7d7. This link can also be found by visiting catamountarts.org.