Gilbert’s annual Mayor’s New Year’s Eve Party will be quite the show, organizers say.
A popular local band will perform while young children play games and enjoy the paid entertainment, such as a clown or magician.
But for teenagers, there probably won’t be much more than a disc jockey, an auditorium and “maybe six kids from the chess club,” Mayor Steve Berman said during the Gilbert Community Activities Board meeting Wednesday.
But that’s something Berman said he’d like to change, if not this year, then next year. “I would like us to build a really cool New Year’s Eve tradition for high school students,” Berman said.
But according to some teens, it will take more than a disc jockey and light show to attract the town’s high school-aged residents.
An outdoor concert or even a battle of the bands is more their style, said several Mesquite High School students who attended Wednesday’s meeting. And even then, students said, the event probably won’t be a hit until its second year. But organizers said they didn’t think there was enough time to make adequate plans for a teen party.
The event, featuring local band Corporate Affair and a traditional balloon-filled countdown to midnight, will be alcohol- and tobacco-free.
Hello 2008
What: Mayor’s New Year’s Eve Party
When: 8 p.m. to midnight Dec. 31
Where: McQueen Park Activity Center, 510 N. Horne St., Gilbert
Cost: $5 per family or $2 per person
Information: Visit www.ci.gilbert.az.us or call (480) 503-6200.
