WHAT TO DO AFTER DARK : FULLERTON : Family-Oriented Street Fest Planned

City officials expect thousands of people to fill the streets of downtown Fullerton on New Year’s Eve when the city sponsors its third annual “First Night Fullerton” celebration.

The festival, from 7 p.m. to midnight Friday, will feature about 100 different events, including live entertainment and children’s activities on sidewalks, parking lots and buildings lining Harbor Boulevard between Chapman and Commonwealth avenues. About 10,000 people attended last year’s event.

The party is being billed as “a family-oriented, alcohol-free celebration.” The concept for the “First Night” program began in Boston in 1976 as an effort to broaden public appreciation of the visual and performing arts while offering an alternative to the traditional New Year’s Eve parties that focus on alcohol and drinking, city officials said. This year, more than 100 cities across the United States are participating.

Music groups, theater actors, artists, storytellers and dancers will be performing throughout the night, and art will be on display. A fireworks show will take place at midnight.

Admission for the event is $7 for adults and $5 for children. Free parking will be available at the Transportation Center parking structure on Pomona Avenue, the Plummer Parking building at the corner of Lemon Street and Chapman Avenue and other public parking lots on Amerige, Wilshire and Malden avenues.