The C-VILLE cover story this week highlights the mess that’s left behind after certain big local parties. Appropriate, given that tonight is another occasion on which corks will pop.
First Night Virginia. That’s non-alkie champagne, thank you.
And this morning as I was driving to work, I heard some talk on NPR about the celebration in Times Square. More than a ton of confetti will flutter down on revelers, along with thousands of balloons. The second photo on this site gives you some idea, as do Aaron Farrington’s photos for C-VILLE, of what that’ll look like when the crowds disperse.
Well, long may happiness reign. By the end of the holiday season, I find myself a bit immune to waste, even though the rest of the year my skin will crawl at the sight of a needlessly bagged purchase or an unwanted catalog in the mail. Sometimes, like when I was handed three different plastic plates by a well-intentioned hostess over the course of a recent Christmas party, you just can’t fight the tide.
However, January would be an excellent time to think ahead about our 2009 celebrations—personal, local, national—and how we could plan them so they’re just as much fun, but leave zero mess behind. Plastic cups aren’t fun. Styrofoam coolers aren’t fun. It’s people, food, and good spirits that are fun. What would Foxfield, or the Dogwood Festival, or any UVA home game be like without the garbage? I dare us all to find out. (As I wrote in November, the Live Arts Gala—one of Farrington’s subjects—actually was a great step in this direction.)
If you’re reading this after New Year’s Eve and you were at First Night, or any other party, let us know how green it was. And, dear readers, Happy New Year.