First Night Akron brings the idea of a shared arts evening to the turn of the year. The project’s original run combined music, dance, theater, visual arts and hands-on experiences in downtown Akron.
The returning edition is planned for December 31, 2026, welcoming 2027. This website is the restored project website, maintained by its current operator, who has confirmed the right to represent First Night Akron.
A return with a memory
Restoring the website means preserving more than a name. The archive brings back programs, volunteer documents, photographs, artist pages and the admission-button tradition. Those materials remain connected to their original editions.
The festival’s original run ended after 22 celebrations; retirement was announced in July 2018. The returning edition is a new chapter. Historic partners, employees, performers and sponsors are not automatically listed as participants in the new program.
What this website is for
- Current visitors: the date, confirmed updates and practical preparation for the returning edition.
- Artists and neighbors: a place to follow ways of taking part as those arrangements are announced.
- Researchers and former visitors: a dated collection of surviving festival records.
How we handle the record
We separate current announcements from historical material. We do not silently change an old program’s date, price or cast to make it look current. When an original file is recovered, we preserve its bytes; when a page is restored, we identify the archived capture used.
Start with the returning edition, read the festival timeline, or explore the archive.