First Night Danbury was a celebration of the New Year,a family-friendly event that took over downtown Danbury from 4 to 8 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. Pictured here are participants gathered at City Center in Danbury, CT USA on December 31, 2012.  First night activities started with a 5K run and culminated at Library Plaza (in front of Danbury’s library) with an exciting fire-and-ice finale featuring a wonderful fire show by Rock Inferno and ornate ice sculptures.

Ted Killmer, the consulting producer of Danbury’s First Night stated,”I think Danbury is just the right size for an arts and cultural event that has surprises around every corner.”

Art work created in the RainForest ArtLink Program was a highpoint of those cultural surprises with exhibits at Danbury’s City Center, City Hall, Library andOrtega’s Restaurante which will remain until January 10, 2013.

Art was selected from our archives to be the iconic image on the First Night badge (seen above). The art work is entitled, “Christmas Caroling” by Konrad, age 13 from Nowy Sacz, Poland.

There will be two workshops including a live videoconference with Guatemalan student artists living in the Maya Biosphere Reserve being offered to the public on Saturday January 5, 2013.  For more information:Rain Forest ArtLink Workshops.