Thirty-two years ago Jerry Rice was still catching touchdown passes for the 49ers, Bill Clinton was elected President of the United States and along the Central Coast, First Night Monterey was about to launch its inaugural New Year’s Eve celebration.
The family-friendly, alcohol-free arts and entertainment extravaganza offered an alternative to the boozy debauched-filled night with its unmet expectations, risk of violent confrontation and mission to find a safe ride home.
The First Night concept was born in 1976 in Boston and migrated to cities throughout the U.S. and Canada before landing in Monterey, where it was started by Paulette Lynch and her husband Ken Peterson along with a group of local artists and residents in 1992…