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Walter Duke IV, age 13, yells 'Happy new year!' out the window of the trolley shuttle in downtown Fredericksburg.
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By MICHAEL ZITZ
Wet vs. dry.
Family-friendly vs. party hearty.
Downtown vs. Uptown.
Wild vs. mild.
Each New Year's Eve, most of Fredericksburg's attention is focused on First Night, the alcohol-free event that attracts thousands of parents and children downtown.
But "Dead Fred" can party on New Year's Eve. Bars were overflowing with revelers, with alcohol flowing freely at Central Park, the hotspot for nightlife in the region.
On a typical Saturday night, young men who've had one beer too many have been known to unleash Rebel Yells and overturn trash cans around midnight.
Because of First Night, however, New Year's Eve was likely to have been the most peaceful Saturday night downtown in 2005.
The streets were filled with smiling young couples clutching the tiny hands of bundled-up toddlers.
"Everyone's out with their family and having a good time," Kimberly Herbert, director of First Night Fredericksburg, said as children frolicked and laughed around her.
"There's not much trouble at all. Everything is wonderful."
Jim Shelhorse, a spokesman for the Fredericksburg Police Department, said New Year's Eve has been virtually trouble-free in Fredericksburg.
"I think we've been pretty fortunate," Shelhorse said as he celebrated at The Loft bar downtown. "Traditionally, it's a pretty good night for us--surprisingly so."
He said local people have been heeding warnings about drinking and driving, especially on New Year's Eve.
"Even with all the events going on, New Year's usually is not a bad thing for us."
He said there has never been a problem at First Night except for some teenagers attacking the pear last year after its midnight drop into the street.
This year, a new electric pear was to be lit at midnight, rather than being dropped into harm's way.
"People say, 'You really must be busy on New Year's Eve,'" Shelhorse said. "But I say, 'Not really.'
"There certainly are more people out and certainly a lot later, but we're fortunate."
He said the development of Central Park has not created "any unusual problems on New Year's--really just traffic. For most people, it's a night to go out to dinner more so than just go out and drink."
Downtown, at 9 p.m. there was a "kids' countdown," with the "Wishing Tree" at Central Rappahannock Regional Library headquarters being lighted.
Meanwhile, on Princess Anne Street at Central Station--formerly Houston's Bar & Grille--singles and baby boomers were downing brews as Bad Habits, a Fredericksburg rock band, warmed up. The band had brought along a massive 30,000-watt sound, smoke and light show run by No Limits Sound--the same people who often work shows at Nissan Pavilion.
"It's perfect for 25- to 55-year-olds, which there are a lot of in Fredericksburg," said Gary Garrett, Bad Habits' bass player.
Such an ear-splitting show was a historically appropriate way to ring in the new year. Fredericksburg is where the seeds of heavy metal and punk were sewn during an epic show by guitar legend Link Wray in 1959. And it's where other music greats such as Patsy Cline and Dave Matthews cut their teeth with frequent gigs on their way to superstardom.
Wray died last month, and his daughter said this week that she hopes Fredericksburg City Council will erect a sign near Virginia Barbecue, which stands on the site where the seminal show was played almost half a century ago.
Revelers may have been witnessing a similar phenomenon last night across town at First Night, as rising homegrown star Anousheh Khalili, whose song "Say Hello" was nominated for a Grammy this month, was playing for the family-oriented crowd. Khalili, 23, graduated from Stafford High School, and her soulful alternative rock gave teens and twentysomethings a reason to come out.
Fredericksburg-based Saffire--The Uppity Blues Women and Wil Gravatt, a local country act that opened for President Bush on the 2004 campaign trail, were among the other First Night acts downtown last night.
The big finale was the First Night "midnight countdown" to the first-time lighting of a new fiber-optic pear that replaced the original one artist Ken Crampton dreamed up a as a joke a decade ago, lampooning the small town by creating a Times Square-type New Year's Eve event.
Legend has young George Washington chopping down his famous cherry tree just across the Rappahannock River in Stafford County. But for a decade, the city has celebrated a foul-smelling tree that drops malformed brown "pears" on car windshields. Even as the city replaced Crampton's creation, he might have been having the last laugh.
"It's unique," First Night director Herbert said of the new pear. "Fiber optics is a very in thing.
"It's just a sign of the times," she said. "Everything changes."
To reach MICHAEL ZITZ:
Email: mikez@freelancestar.com
