Arts In

Allen Loyd spends more than a year every year, putting together St. Petersburg’s biggest New Year’s Eve celebration. First Night is a family-friendly celebration of the arts, a way to roll out the old year and swing in the new with music, dance, visual art, theatre, fireworks and even fire sculptures, now on its 25th year. It’s aimed at letting people of all ages play, and create art themselves. And it’s where Allen’s creative genius has sparked artistic collaborations for decades. Allen wrangled the parade that led The Dalí Museum from their old location to their beautiful new building. He organizes the St. Pete Science Festival every fall and is the longtime House Manager for American Stage in the Park. He’s an experienced set and prop designer whose busy schedule rarely permits theatre work these days, but he found time to design an imaginative set for Tampa Rep’s recent production of Flying. Allen has seen St. Pete change and grow since he started out as American Stage’s first intern. Hear how thi