entertainment

It's the biggest party in the Southwest, they say. Every New Year's Eve for the past 15 years, the Tempe Block Party has attracted upward of 175,000 revelers locals and tourists, kids and adults, country folks and city slickers - in a scene that Mayor Neil Giuliano describes as "madness in a very controlled sense."

Unlike at Times Square in New York, bundling up and shivering in Tempe at the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Block Party are neither necessary nor allowed. As midnight approaches, the casually dressed crowd packs the city's main cross streets the intersection of Mill Avenue and Fifth Streetto count down the seconds to the arrival of the New Year. Other celebrants squeeze themselves onto secondstory balconies overlooking the chaotic scene, and a few even climb lampposts to get a better view.

The inevitable roar and the accompanying fireworks display on nearby "A" Mountain at the stroke of midnight cap an eight-hour party that features non-stop music, amusement rides, and a lot of food. "It's really a statewide event," notes Giuliano. "We had people calling who were coming up from Tucson and coming down from Flagstaff.

"Of course, the people from the two teams that are part of the Fiesta Bowl are always a significant part of it. It's great for them to come here, experience this, and go home and say, You should have been in Arizona. You should see the New Year's they have.' It's just a great thing."

Tempe effectively encloses 24 square blocks in downtown for the Block Party and erects six stages for a variety of national and local musical acts intended to satisfy everyone's tastes. Performers over the years have included Leann Rimes, The B52s, The Goo Goo Dolls, and The Monkees.

The focal point for the fun is the main drag of Mill Avenue, and on almost every corner there's a street performer whose tricks command attention.

Brad Zupp learned to juggle when he was 10 years old and spent two years as a clown with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. "It's a blast," says 30-yearold Zupp of the Tempe Block Party. "Everyone's out here to have a good time. It's a very safe place. Lot of security here. There's a surprising number of kids. It's a nice, safe, family-friendly environment to come out here and celebrate."

Scanning the faces of youngsters as they watch someone like Zupp perform is worth the price of admission. "During the show, I stay pretty far from the audience or far for me. I juggle fire. I don't do knives out here in the street," says Zupp, who explains that safety is a concern when he wields his flaming torches. "It's a safe kind of fuel that doesn't burn very hot. I've been performing professionally for 17 years, and in 17 years I've never hurt anybody knock on wood, including myself."

The Tempe Block Party's biggest draw is the music, and the event provides a broader audience than normal for local performers such as Arizona bluesman Hans Olson, who looks forward to the gig. "A lot more people. Better sound. Shorter sets," he says. It's an opportunity to expand his fan base. "I'd say most of them had never heard of me before, but that's what's good about a gig like thislittle kids and old people and rockers. Every kind of people. If they're all blues fans, there's not that tension that makes it exciting. But when you get all kinds of people together, it's exciting."

However, Olson adds, "The logistics of it are a nightmare. We had to be here at noon to load in for an 8 o'clock show. Actually, it turned out perfect." The Tempe Block Party really caters to two audiences families, and those out to celebrate the New Year.

PARTY Downtown Tempe Welcomes the New Year with Family Fun, Live Entertainment, and Fireworks

"The crowd will change between 10:30 and 11:30 P.M.," explains Giuliano. "The families will go home, and folks will come out who really want to party down but it's always a safe time. It's a very contained time. The drinking's only in bars and restaurants and beer gardens." The Tempe Block Party provides a homecoming for Tempe resident Robin Wilson, former lead singer of the best-known band to ever come out of Arizona, the Gin Blossoms, who formed a new group called The Gas Giants.

"It's very cool," says Wilson. "When you've got the moon in front of the stage, it's always wonderful. You've got this great crowd of people who have all paid their $15 and want $15 worth of entertainment. We really try and put out for them."

(THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT) A clown's impromptu street performance transfixes two young spectators.

Carnival rides add to the downtown excitement.

Brad Zupp's fire juggling act stops a crowd of onlookers.

Playing one's hometown can be a mixed blessing, according to Wilson. "Hometown crowds can be a challenge because sometimes they expect you to really impress them. Either that or they're really, really impressed just because you happen to be able to play your instruments and you're from the same high school they went to. It's either one or the other. They either think you're really great for being local, or they think you should be Metallica."

Whether you're chowing down on Indian fry bread, getting your face painted, or riding the Ferris wheel, the Tempe Block Party offers a colorful outdoor alternative to traditional New Year's Eve parties.

"It has a lot to do with the city; it's so new," Olson says. "It doesn't have a seedy place. You can walk all around, and there isn't a bad neighborhood in the downtown area. People feel really comfortable. I do."

Mayor Giuliano notes, "At most we make one or two arrests in the evening and that's for people who can't make it to the Port-A-John in time. Generally, everyone's here to have a good time and respects everyone else's right to have a good time, which is really great."

The mayor sums up the Tempe Block Party: "It's an Arizona tradition now. It's really a great way to ring in the New Year." And that will be especially true on Dec. 31, 1999. The Tempe Tostitos Fiesta Bowl Block Party will take place Friday, December 31, 1999, 4 P.M. to midnight, in downtown Tempe. For tickets, call the Fiesta Bowl ticket office, (480) 350-0911.

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