More than 50k flood downtown Raleigh for acorn drop

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- More than 50,000 people spent their New Year's Eve in downtown Raleigh for the city's First Night festivities.

Event organizer Artsplosure said the number was just an estimate."We'll have a little better idea once we get our final ticket counts and all of those details," Cameron Laws, a representative for Artsplosure said.

Now, the team will begin working on preparations for 2021, which will be the 30th anniversary of First Night.

"The moment that acorn drops, we are thinking about the next one," Laws said. "So the next 364 days we will plan for First Night Raleigh 2021 and the last one was no different. So it's a lot of planning. It's a big team and it's always so satisfying to see it come together at the last minute."

Staff from Artsplosure spent some of their New Year's Day walking the streets to survey what was left of First Night after a huge turnout Tuesday night.

"Raleigh really does not let the weather hold them back," Laws said. "We have had 10 degree nights. We have had 60 degree rainy nights. No matter what is happening, there is always a crowd for the acorn drop."

Laws said the upcoming 30th anniversary will be a huge celebration for the Artsplosure team. "We'll have to come up with something to make it a little more special," she said.

Laws said there were not any security or safety issues reported.

As of the time of publication, Raleigh Police Department had not responded to a request for comment.