In a dimly lit room in downtown Akron, dozens of people moved and grooved on New Year’s Eve — but few were dancing to the same beat, and there was no music to be heard.
Save for those on the dance floor, the only tunes in the room came muffled through the doorway from the rooms next door. The event, christened the Silent Disco, prompted one observer to stop short in the doorway.
“Well, this is weird,” he said, his faced crunched into a puzzled expression. “Everyone’s dancing, but there’s no music.”
But there was music: Only the dancers could hear it.
Each participant wore headphones tuned to one of three stations — Top 40, Motown or techno — and were free to dance away while observers giggled or opted to join in. It may look foolish from the outside, but participants assured it was more fun than it looked.
“It was so much fun,” said David Labra, 18. “Everyone’s having such a good time, it doesn’t matter how you look.”
Elena Merhaut, 17, agreed.
“It’s so much better than a school dance,” she said. “Plus, it’s really fun to people watch. We’d take off our headphones every once in a while and just look at the people around us.”
The event, held for the first time in the John S. Knight Center all evening long, was just one of dozens of events that attracted people to downtown Akron on New Year’s Eve. Thousands perused the city on Thursday night to bring in the new year at Akron’s First Night celebration.
Stretching across almost a dozen venues, the event brought visitors from across the region to musical performances, artistic shows and fun-filled attractions.
Where some attended the dancing and music events indoors, others opted instead for outdoor pleasures at Lock 3 Park. There, some visitors took to the ice skating rink — while others admired majestic ice sculptures.
Jeff Meyers, one of the sculptors, wowed a crowd of dozens during the first of three demonstrations. As he took a tool to a block of clear ice, shaved snow shot from the block and rained down onto the crowd. Some screamed, others laughed.
“Watch out,” Meyers said, a grin on his face. “You didn’t think it was going to snow tonight.”
Meyers, of Broadview Heights-based Elegant Ice Creations, started his demonstration with a 300-pound block of ice. When he began, the block had only a penguin drawn into the cold structure. By the time he was complete, though, what stood was a fully three-dimensional sculpture.
Other events across the city included theater shows, performance art, live music, a laser light show and a fireworks display planned for midnight. Last year, First Night attracted more than 14,000 people.
Nick Glunt can be reached at 330-996-3565 or nglunt@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickGluntABJ.