Pittsburgh

Oil City

Sunday, December 24, 2006

By Virginia Linn, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Each week we map out a road trip in the region. If you have a suggestion for a great one, e-mail roadtrip@post-gazette.com or write:

RoadTrip
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
34 Blvd. of the Allies
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

Not to be unfaithful to the 'Burgh, but that's not the only city that celebrates First Night in Western Pennsylvania on Dec. 31. Oil City and Clarion also host respectable celebrations of this alcohol-free, family-oriented event for which any small community would be proud.

Worth noting this year, Oil City in Venango County is puttin' on the Ritz for the 10th year of its event, in which organizers are bringing back the most popular entertainers for the "Best of First Night." While attendance at the 2000 Millennium drew nearly 6,000 people, typical attendance ranges between 3,000 and 5,000.

Oil City is located at the confluence of the Allegheny River and Oil Creek, at the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. It's a little more than 90 miles north of Downtown Pittsburgh.

The area is known as "The Valley that Changed the World" after Col. Edwin L. Drake drilled the first commercially successful well in 1859 to use the oil as an illuminant. (Indians earlier had used the oil for medicinal purposes.) By the time the town was incorporated in 1871, more than a million barrels of oil were being transported through Oil City a year.

Although Oil City, which has about 11,500 people, lost the corporate headquarters of Quaker State in the mid-1990s, city leaders are working hard to revitalize the downtown and to bring new businesses and families to the region.

Its First Night celebration attracts people from throughout the area, so if you're looking for a change of scenery this New Year's Eve, Oil City might be worth the trip.

Among the entertainers will be New York City blues singer Guy Davis, son of Ozzie Davis and Ruby Dee (performing at the local YMCA). Other entertainers include Grand Ole Opry harmonica and guitar-banjo duo Raymond McLain and Mike Stevens, Canadian folk group Tanglefoot from Ontario and the venerable Irish entertainer Cahal Dunne, who is a popular performer in Pittsburgh.

Buttons that get you into all events cost $10 (free for kids 5 and under) next week. Performances and events run from 5:30 to 11:30 p.m. Then crowds will gather along the banks of the Allegheny River for fireworks that begin at midnight.

Shuttles are available to take participants to indoor events throughout the night. Temperatures for the fireworks in recent years haven't been too unbearable -- from a low of 28 degrees (and no snow) last year and to as high as 46 degrees in 2004.

Go to www.usachoice.net/firstnight/ for the full lineup and other details. You'll find a list of accommodations in the area at www.venangochamber.org.

12/24/06

(RoadTrip guest columnist Virginia Linn can be reached at vlinn@post-gazette.com.)