To celebrate the arrival of 2011, Kimmel Center Presents will be providing ticket giveaways on New Year’s Day within the facility and on the Kimmel Center’s Facebook and Twitter sites to: STOMP (Feb 15-20), 2011 Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA) (April 7 – May 1), Mary Poppins, and select Kimmel Center Presents Spring performances.  Visit www.kimmelcenter.org for more info.

Free at the Kimmel Series 2011 New Year’s Day festivities include:

9am – 6pm:                 Resolution Wall: post this year’s resolutions for all to see

10:30am – 3:30pm:     Kid’s Festivities: face painting, crafts and balloon animals

10:30am – 2:30pm:     Stilt walkers on display
11:00am:                     Two of a Kind & Give ‘Em a Hand Band

12:30pm:                     Ernie & Neal

2:00pm:                       Broadway Dreams Foundation

3:30pm:                       Hot Club of Philadelphia

New Year’s Day Celebration menu includes freshly prepared sandwiches with vegetarian options, hot dogs, soft pretzels, soups and salads, along with hot chocolate, Philly-brewed beer, wine and specialty martinis on the Commonwealth Plaza level.

FREE AT THE KIMMEL EVENTS:

Saturday, January 1, 2011 | Commonwealth Plaza

New Year’s Day Celebration | 9am to 6pm
As the Mummers strut down Broad Street, take a break from the cold and ring in the New Year with the Kimmel Center! Enjoy free festive performances, make your mark on the annual Resolution Wall, and win ticket giveaways to free Broadway, Kimmel Center Presents and PIFA performances.

Two of a Kind & Give ‘Em a Hand Band | 11am
Hailed by Publishers' Weekly as “a one-of-a-kind find,” this husband-and-wife pair will delight listeners of all ages with upbeat music, childlike humor and audience interaction. The Give 'Em a Hand Band, featuring bass, keyboards, trombone, panpipes, percussion and French horn, joins Two of a Kind to get audience members singing along, tapping their feet and dancing in the aisles.

Ernie & Neal | 12:30pm

Ernie & Neal, a fun-loving, high-energy musical duo from Pennsylvania, will blend storytelling and singing as they explore sound, rhythm and rhyme. Prepare for a non-stop, dancing-in-your-seat creative experience that combines reggae, jazz, folk, bluegrass, and more!

Broadway Dreams Foundation | 2pm
The Broadway Dreams Foundation will perform a preview of upcoming Broadway Series shows to take place during 2010-11 season.  Performance highlights include teasers of musical selections from Mary Poppins, In The Heights, Next To Normal and Les Misérables, and additional popular Broadway works.

Hot Club of Philadelphia | 3:30pm
Specializing in Gypsy Jazz the Hot Club of Philadelphia presents a program for PNC* Grow Up Great that will tell the story of Django Reinhardt—the inspiration behind this unique style of music. The ensemble will perform a variety of music and discuss the meaning behind each piece. Young learners will also learn first-hand about the instruments being used (accordion, guitar, violin, and double base) as well as concepts of Jazz music, including improvisation.
>www.hotclubphilly.com

Kimmel Center, Inc., a charitable, not-for-profit organization, owns, manages, supports and maintains The Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, which includes Verizon Hall, Perelman Theater, Innovation Studio and the Merck Arts Education Center.  Kimmel Center, Inc. also manages the Academy of Music, owned by the Philadelphia Orchestra Association, and the University of the Arts’ Merriam Theater. Our mission is to operate a world-class performing arts center that engages and serves a broad audience from throughout the Greater Philadelphia region. The 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Citi, and the Broadway 2010/2011 season is sponsored by Verizon, and American Airlines.  For additional information, visit kimmelcenter.org. 

Free at the Kimmel programming is made possible through the Wachovia Gateway to the Arts Community Access Program, supported by a generous grant from the Wachovia Foundation.

The Kimmel Center is the recipient of partnership funding through the nationally recognized PNC "Grow Up Great" initiative, a ten-year, $100 million investment in preparing children for success in school and life.