KIDS' NIGHT OUT 2026!
The most creative New Year's Eve you will have with your family!
The First Act for the Young and Young-at-Heart kicks off with activities in the Monterey Conference Center at 3:00 pm, and features the Twilight Parade at 5:30 pm on Alvarado Street which serves as the Kids' Finale. Check out the fun activities to complete your artful time! After the Twilight Procession, FNM buttons will be needed for admission to all the indoor fun for the over-5 set.
Schedule details subject to change. Last updated 12/3/2025
Opening Ceremony
Site 1: Serra Ballroom, Conference Center 3:00 PM (Free to All)First Night Monterey 2025 opens with a traditional blessing by WHITE HAWK INDIAN COUNCIL FOR CHILDREN. Using dance, music, flowers and incense as part of Aztec cultural practices, they begin the opening of the Celebration with a traditional Aztec blessing. As we reflect on our past year, the ceremony presents opportunities to pause and look ahead to the new year. Please join them, bringing us together as we open First Night Monterey 2025!
Twilight Procession
Site: Alvarado Street, from Franklin Street to Pearl Street 5:30 PM (Free to All)Join us as we process down Alvarado Street from Franklin Street towards Pearl Street. The Procession starts at 5:30PM. First Night Monterey is first and foremost about community, so we hope you will join us in the Twilight Procession as we feature, artists, dancers, giant puppets, marching moms and many other local friends and neighbors. Procession route begins at Franklin Street down Alvarado Street (wrong way) towards Pearl.
FNM Kiosks: New Year's Eve Light-Ups and Button Sales
Site 7: Alvarado Street near Pearl Street (4:00—8:45)Site 16: Alvarado Street at Del Monte, in the Plaza (3:00—11:00)
Glow in the dark, light up the night, fly into the new year! First Night Monterey takes pride in providing New Year's Eve novelty items at family-friendly prices. Visit one of our kiosks to purchase the perfect glow-in-the-dark accessory that will add a magical sparkle to anyone's New Year's Eve look. This is a fundraiser for First Night; all proceeds benefit our year-round arts programs. Buy Admission Buttons here also.
INTERACTIVE ART ACTIVITIES FOR ALL
Bubble Stomp!
Site 2: Serra Ballroom, Conference Center 3:30—5:00 PM (Free Activity)Pop! Pop! Pop! Who can resist squishing and twisting bubble wrap? Jump, hop, stomp, do the electric slide or break dance your way to popping every single bubble!
First Night Face Art!
Site 4: Art Station 2, Serra Lobby, Conference Center 3:30 – 4:45 PM (Free Activity, on-going, lines are formed)Site 20: Art Station 2, Serra Lobby Monterey Conference Center 6:15– 9:00 PM (Button Venue on-going with staff breaks, lines are formed)
First Night artists are ready to create a festive, artful image on your face! Please note, this a popular activity, waiting lines are formed; lines may close early so artists can finish on time.
New Year's Eve Crowns
Site 3: Art Station 1, Serra Lobby, Conference Center 3:15—5:00 PM (Free Activity)Site 19: Art Station 1, Serra Lobby, Conference Center 6:30—8:45 PM (Button Venue)
Select your markers and colorful gemstones to make a crown befitting of a NYE prince or princess! Every Child - even your inner child - will have such fun adorning these crowns with plastic gems, rhinestones, glitter glue, stickers, buttons, ribbons, and other accents to make and wear - crowns that will make you feel like royalty!
Celebration Hats
Site 3: Art Station 1, Serra Lobby, Conference Center 3:15—5:00 PM (Free Activity)Site 19: Art Station 1, Serra Lobby, Conference Center 6:30—8:45 PM (Button Venue)
Be creative and have fun is our motto! The creating of the celebration hat brings out the kid in everyone! The fashionable all wear them, for they display the creativity in all of us! What? A new year’s hat… so turn a paper grocery bag into a top hat with pizzazz! using tulle, beads, pipe cleaners, colored paper, prismatic Mylar strips and more! Bring your own bags to be a recycling superhero! Fun for all ages-and an absolute must for First Night participants with flair!
Get your hands dirty SCULPTING CLAY SEED PODS
Site 19: Conference Center, Serra Lobby 6:30—8:45 (Free Venue)Welcome creativity and growth into 2026 as you sculpt clay seed pods with local ceramicist and art educator Johanna Keefe. Join Johanna and get your hands dirty while you create a one-of-a-kind handmade seed pod to take home and plant in your home or garden.
Sponsored by Sunset Cultural Center
KIDS' NIGHT OUT EARLY PERFORMANCES
White Hawk Indian Council For Children
Site 1: Serra Ballroom, Conference Center 3:00—3:15 | 3:45—4:00 (Free to All)Site 7: Alvarado Street Galleria 6:15—6:45 (Free to All)
White Hawk Indian Council For Children opens the First Night celebration with stunning costumes and traditional Aztec dances. White Hawk seeks to provide safe environments where youth can develop trust, to enhance the quality of life within their families and community and to develop a spiritual awareness through participation in traditional ceremonies and cultural arts. As they dance, ankle bands of seed pods and hand-held gourd rattles keep time to their steps while their feathered headdresses and fans shake colorfully as they move! They handcraft their regalia utilizing exotic skins, natural stones and beads, genuine leather and naturally molted exotic feathers for their headdresses.
Shinsho Mugen Daiko
Site 1: Serra Ballroom, Conference Center 3:15—3:45 | 4:00—4:45 (Free to All)Hear the thunder of the drums! Experience the exquisite physicality of these Taiko Drummers as they perform traditional Japanese drumming, incorporating elements of martial arts. Shinsho Mugen Daiko was founded in 1999 by Ikuyo Contant, as a group of drummers interested in studying the art of Japanese drumming. Taiko is a traditional art form that incorporates the elements of martial arts, focusing on centering oneself in the grounded position, the concentration, direction, and controlling of energy and breathing.
Monterey Firefighters!
Site 6: Alvarado Street at Pearl 4:15—5:30 (Free Activity)Monterey Fire Department will park a fire truck at the corner of Pearl and Alvarado Streets and the firefighters invite all future firefighters as well as fans to come meet them and see the truck up close! Enjoy some hot chocolate with them, snap a selfie with the firefighters and give them a heartfelt Thank You for their service!
South Monterey County High School District Rock Bands
Site 12: Franklin St Stage, Alvarado St. 5:00‒5:30 | 6:15‒ 6:30 (Free to All)
Teen musicians from South Monterey County High School District Rock Bands take the stage with energetic sets featuring ’90s grunge and indie pop rock! Fans can enjoy performances by these talented young artists from Greenfield and King City High Schools. These South Monterey County High School District bands bring a blend of ’90s grunge grit and fresh indie pop rock to First Night!
Grumbling Ginger
Site 20: Steinbeck 2, Monterey Conference Center 6:30‒7:00 | 7:15‒7:45 | 8:00‒8:30 (Button Venue)Grumbling Ginger recreates the atmosphere of a British folk club; with songs, storytelling, and humor. Their performances blend songs, storytelling, humor, and a vibrant mix of acoustic instruments—including guitar, dulcimer, mandolin, celestaphone, doumbek, and bodhrán—creating an engaging, heartfelt musical experience with a distinctly Celtic-flavored folk-rock sound.
Zack Freitas Band
Site 9: Bonifacio Stage, Alvarado Street 6:30‒7:00 | 7:15‒7:45 | 8:00‒8:30 (Free to All)Local Indie band delivers powerful vocals and intimate song writing. An indie alt-rock powerhouse; the grit of Nirvana and Foo Fighters with a modern, introspective edge. His guitar-driven anthems explode with distorted riffs, melodic hooks, and lyrics that unpack heartbreak, mental battles, and the wild ride of life on the road. From headbanging choruses to haunting acoustic confessions, Freitas crafts soundscapes that hit hard and heal deep. Get ready to feel alive!
Guitars Not Guns
Site 12: Franklin St Stage, Alvarado St. 6:45—7:15 | 7:30—8:00 | 8:15—8:45 (Free to All)
The Guitars Not Guns band features Monterey County youth, alumni, and adult volunteers who gather every Saturday at the Marina Teen Center for free guitar lessons. Playing a blend of American classics and contemporary hits, these kids are fun and inspiring, with groovy rhythm stand out vocal and solo performers. Under the direction of Amy Warren. Guitars Not Guns provides free instruments and lessons throughout Monterey County. The band performs at local festivals and events including the West End Festival, County Fair, and First Night Monterey.
First Night Presents "Just Dance and Sing!" Karaoke
Site 10: Alvarado Street/Just Dance & Sing Stage 7:00—9:15 PM (Free Activity)Join us at the FNM Dance/Karaoke Lounge where the stage is yours and the vibes are electric! Sing your heart out, dance like no one is watching, and create unforgettable memories.
Flashpoint FireShow
Site 14: Alvarado Street Illumination Artists 7:00—8:00 | 8:30—9:30 | 10:00—10:45 (Free to All)Flashpoint Fire Show is a breathtaking display of cutting-edge entertainment straight from your wildest dreams — an experience you won’t want to miss. Prepare to be amazed as stunningly skilled fire dancers perform elegant, high-energy choreography to electrifying music that will leave you in awe. These world-class artists promise to ignite the night with light, artistry, and pure magic at First Night Monterey!
DiFranco DanceProject
Site 7: Galleria, Alvarado Street 7:30—8:00 | 8:15—8:45 | 9:00—9:30(Free to All)The DiFranco DanceProject will present a lively, colorful, culturally diverse holiday program of dances representing New Orleans Jazz, Afro-Samba of Bahia and Afro-Cuban Fusion and even a unique blend of Afro-Celtic Dance. The DiFranco DanceProject is a local youth dance troupe of youth ranging from 8 through 16. The dancers are members of Dianne Lyle’s Afro-Latin Jazz Dance classes, originally an after-school dance program sponsored by the Pacific Grove Recreation Department.
Black Irish Band
Site 21: Steinbeck 1, Conference Center 7:45—8:15 | 8:30—9:00 | 9:15—9:45 (Button Venue)Hailing from the historic Gold Rush Country of America, the Black Irish Band of 28 years have a musical style that is as timeless as the rugged landscape of the west, a tribute to the people whose lives were spent building the world we now take for granted. The band has a large complement of traditional maritime and railroad music, as well as ethnic tunes in their repertoire, performed on instruments from the 1800s like fiddle, melodeon, banjo, and stand-up bass. They excel at Irish & Scottish, and American folk music with an assortment of original songs and traditional western ballads. The band's musical style captures the spirit of the immigrants of this land, the men and women who tamed the Wild West.
Ashe Ensenble
Site 8B: Franklin Street at Alvarado Street 8:00—8:45 | 9:00-9:45 | 10:00—11:00 (Free to All)Jayson Fann, percussionist, and celebrated musicians with his band of international drummers and dancers will bring alive FIrst Night Monterey with a celebration of rhythms from around the globe. Jayson is a multi-Instrumentalist, percussionist and drummer, specializing in Pan African percussion and drums with a special emphasis in Afro Cuban folkloric, Ghanaian, Yoruba, Jazz , Hip hop, Brazilian, Flamenco and middle eastern music. His work is centered in the creation of arts and cultural collaborations that foster connection with nature, intercultural dialogue and awareness.