First Night Dover

For Immediate Release
February 1, 2011

Announcement Regarding First Night Dover

After 15 great years of bringing creative, innovative, artistic and involving entertainment to Dover on New Year’s Eve, the First Night Dover Board of Directors announced it will not host an event on December 31, 2011.

Since 1996, First Night has provided a family-oriented, alcohol-free New Year’s Eve alternative featuring music, arts, hand-on activities, comedy and more at sites throughout downtown Dover as well as in the streets. In that time, thousands of people have celebrated each New Year together and made First Night Dover a cherished tradition.

The large majority of funding necessary to stage First Night Dover has always come from donations and grants. However, revenue from both those sources has shrunk in recent years due to the recession. This financial reality has led the event’s board to determine that it is unlikely a First Night event could be produced this year to the size and standards that the Dover community expects and that sponsors deserve.

“It has been a tough time for many non-profits lately, with people not able to give like they used to, or choosing to give to organizations that address basic social needs, and that is completely understandable,” board member and former event director Shelly Cecchett said. “While First Night Dover just staged a great event and certainly is not in debt, our financial reserves have been diminished the last few years. The economy indicates to us that this year it would be as hard if not harder to raise the money needed for a successful event. So the responsible decision is not to hold the event at the end of 2011.”

The First Night Dover board of directors will remain intact and will keep the event’s sponsoring non-profit corporation in place. Our current Co-Director of First Night Dover, Sharrie May, has accepted a position on our Board, effective immediately, to provide further continuity to the Board and the most recent endeavors of First Night Dover.

“In a year or two, if the community and financial support appears to be there and it seems like the event could be viable, we would love to be able to restart First Night Dover,” Cecchett said.

The First Night Dover family extends its thanks and appreciation to all the individuals and entities that have made it such a successful and beloved event, including the generous sponsors, the dedicated volunteers, the outstanding businesses, churches and other locations that hosted First Night events, the talented artists and performers, and the phenomenal staff and police from the City of Dover that helped make the event possible each year.

“Most of all, we thank the adventurous and civic-minded people and families who made First Night Dover such a cherished event in our community,” Cecchett said. “We would never want to give them anything but a completely fun and fulfilling New Year’s Eve.”