By Gene Johnson
Associated Press
SEATTLE — On Dec. 31, 2000, one year after a terrorism scare prompted the city to cancel its millennium celebrations, the Seattle Center drew as many as 40,000 people to its New Year’s Eve party — one of the best turnouts ever.
This year, despite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, city officials expect that residents again will attend the concerts and fireworks at the Space Needle in big numbers.
"From our standpoint, we feel people are looking for those things — to go out, have a good time, and get back into the social atmosphere," Perry Cooper, a spokesman for Seattle Center, said Wednesday. "At this point, we haven’t had any indication that people aren’t going to turn out."
Not all cities around the country expect the same. About 20, including St. Louis, have scrapped their parties due to the weak economy, the mood of the country following the attacks and a shortage of volunteers.
In Tacoma, organizers warned that unless someone else comes forward to run the First Night event, this year’s New Year’s Eve celebration will be the city’s last. The Theater District Associates, a small nonprofit organization, has run the event for the past four years, but has had to scramble to find funding; ticket sales pay for only about one-third of the event’s cost.
But Donna Goyak, a Theater District Associates board member, said it’s not the mood of the country that has prompted the call for a leadership change. Rather, it’s that the organization is too small to handle such a large event and because the event needs a more predictable source of funding.
Seattle’s New Year’s at the Needle differs from family-oriented celebrations in Tacoma, Spokane, the Tri-Cities and other communities around the country. The celebrations, which typically feature art displays, music, ice sculptures and fireworks, are tied to a Boston-based organization called First Night International. They generally require $10 to $15 buttons for admission.
Seattle’s event is free to the public. It is paid for by the Seattle Center’s budget, including revenue from renting space and holding other events throughout the year.
Neither Seattle’s event nor Tacoma’s planned any memorial events or displays marking the Sept. 11 attacks.
"What we decided was that people will largely acknowledge the past year on their own," Goyak said. "That’s part of what First Night is about."
Copyright ©2001 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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