Well, it's that time of year. The time when some of us get totally plastered and sing strange songs while others watch totally plaster New Yorkers singing silly songs on TV at 9 p.m.

But the rest of us will be whooping it up in downtown Tacoma at First Night. If you haven't yet heard about the arts-based, family-friendly (ie alcohol-free) party for New Year's Eve, let me clue you in: it's part of an international chain of similar festivals, each totally local, and it used to happen a lot in T-Town. After a financially-induced hiatus, it came back with a bang last year, and this year promises more of the same. It all takes place around Broadway between S. 7th and 11th Streets, and you can check out their website for details.

My plan for the night is to cruise the local music inside local businesses and theaters, catch Shakespeare sonnets live at Sanford and Sons at 9:30p.m., watch Hi Jack (Lynn Di Nino and collaborators assemble a zebra duo, a stage barker and Marie Antoinette while egging on viewers to rattle DIY percussion instruments in the hopes of springing a Jack-in-the-box out of a shipping container) at 10:30 p.m., then watch some of the Academy Shorts in the Pantages Rehearsal Hall before joining in the general midnight mayhem.

If I last that long, that is.

And according to Di Nino, the performance art goes on rain, snow or whatever. Don't forget to bring a piece of toast. (For the New Year's Eve TOAST, of course, geddit?)

Don't forget, admission to inside events is by First Night button only: buy them for $10 today from the Broadway Center, LeRoy Jewelers, Glenna's Clothing, King's Books, Sanford and Sons, Tacoma Art Museum and the Museum of Glass. The button gets you free admission all day to all museums. Downtown events begin around 6 p.m.