New Year's parties packed -- In Carlsbad and Escondido, festivities filled with family-friendly fun

By: DAVID GARRICK and BARBARA HENRY - Staff Writers | Monday, December 31, 2007 11:27 PM PST ∞

NORTH COUNTY ---- Residents across North County rang in the new year Monday night at parties big and small, but the largest celebrations were family-themed events in Escondido and Carlsbad that attracted thousands of people with live music, jugglers, games and other amusements.

An afternoon party for children at Legoland California in Carlsbad ended at 6 p.m., when fireworks went off after a huge Lego brick dropped 22 feet to commemorate the arrival of the new year.

At nearly the same moment, 17 miles to the east, volunteers opened the gates of First Night Escondido, an alcohol-free event spanning City Hall, Grape Day Park and the California Center for the Arts, Escondido.

Heavy crowds packed the eight stages of live music during the early hours of the 13th annual First Night celebration, and there were lines of people inside a large food court waiting for funnel cakes, teriyaki chicken and nachos.

Powerful spotlights drew attention to the event from as far away as Interstate 15, but the lights were no distraction for hundreds of young children making crafts, special hats and balloon animals inside the performing arts center.

"Do you believe how amazing this is already?" said Debbie Stanley, executive director of the event, just before 7 p.m. "The weather is perfect and the (admission) buttons have been selling like wildfire."

Many people in the crowd, which was expected to surpass 6,000, also gave the event positive reviews, including three San Pasqual High School students sitting on some stairs eating hot dogs and nachos.

"This seems really fun so far," said Charlene Cummins. "Last year I just sat home with my sister and watched movies. I basically had no life."

Her friend Analise Borgatti was slightly less thrilled, explaining that First Night was a fallback option after her plans to attend a concert were nixed.

"This seemed like something fun that we didn't have to drive too far for," said Borgatti. "I like the fact there is so much going on."

Variety has always been a priority for the organizers of First Night, which included a downtown block party until the event was reduced in size two years ago. The smaller event is more manageable, and reducing the budget from $300,000 to $140,000 has helped keep finances in line, organizers said.

There was also a variety of carnival food, but most adults said they came for the music, which included doo-wop, contemporary Christian, world beat, barbershop, improvisational blues harmonica, country rock, country dance and classic international jazz.

Families with young children focused less on the music and more on things like the rock-climbing wall, bungee trampolines, ventriloquists, a Walking Tree Man and crafts.

Marissa Foster, a freshman at Orange Glen High School, was busy working with rigatoni noodles, lanyards and beads. She said that making crafts are a close second to the fireworks, which come just after midnight and conclude the event.

Foster said she loves coming to the event with her family, but that she also looks forward to "hooking up" with friends later in the evening.

Earlier in the day, participants and amusement park employees said they were astonished by the number of people packed into Legoland.

“It's the highest-attended New Year's in the history of the park,” spokeswoman Beth Downing said, looking at the walkways stuffed with people in Miniland, the area where millions of Lego bricks re-create in miniature famous buildings from around the world.

Last year, the Carlsbad park reportedly had 11,000 visitors for its annual early New Year's Eve celebration, which ends just after dark and attracts families with young children.

This year, officials ---- who in general are notoriously closed-mouthed about annual admission statistics ---- wouldn't say how many folks came or whether this year's crowd was drastically larger or just slightly bigger than the previous nine years of the event. However, all indications were that it was significantly larger.

The park's vast parking area was full nearly to capacity, and people departing could be heard complaining about how difficult it was to exit.

Speaking before the fireworks began, 8-year-old Carlsbad resident Cullen Toner said next year he was coming earlier so he could see the band ---- “Just Roberts and the Not Ready for Naptime Players” ---- perform. He could hear the music in the distance Monday night but couldn't get close enough to see anything, he said.

Other people wished their hearing wasn't so good --- the park gave away free horn noisemakers to all the children in the crowd. And many delighted children blew them over and over again.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.