First Night: Lineup revealed for Pittsburgh's 30th annual New Year's celebration
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The countdown to 2024 is on, and the lineup for Pittsburgh's First Night celebration is out.
The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust on Wednesday announced plans for the six-hour New Year's celebration. This year's 30th annual party will take over a 14-block section of the Cultural District on Sunday, Dec. 31. In between two fireworks displays at 6 p.m. and midnight, there will be music, dance, theater, visual arts, magic, a community parade, activities for the kids and more.
This year's headlining performer on Highmark Stage at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Stanwix Street is New Orleans-based Pittsburgh native Lyndsey Smith, who the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust says is known as "The Goddaughter of Soul." Her performance starts at 10:45 p.m. after The Flow Band and the Zuzu African Acrobats kick off the night.
Performance groups and "artistic surprises" will fill the New Year's Eve Parade, which will walk along Penn Avenue between the David L. Lawrence Convention Center and Sixth Street from 8-8:30 p.m.
Fifth Avenue Place will also return this year for indoor fun like caricaturists and family-friendly entertainment. There will also be hands-on family-friendly outdoor activities at the Highmark Holiday Block Party & AHN Family Zone at the intersection of Penn Avenue and Seventh Street.
As 2023 reaches an end, the Future of Pittsburgh Ball will rise 75 feet and a second round of fireworks will light up the sky while the band plays a rendition of "Auld Lang Syne."
There will be plenty more to see and experience on First Night, which is free and open to everyone. A full lineup of events can be found online.