AUBURN - A rising number of revelers poured into Casey Park to count down the hours to a new year Monday.

The sixth annual New Year's Celebration provided families with a alcohol-free night of activities, including face-painting, mask-making, horse-drawn carriage rides and entertainment that ranged from music to fireworks.

By the 7 p.m. start, a crowd had already converged on the recreation center's ice rink.

“We came with some friends and we're going to try ice skating,” Chuck Adams said while lacing up his 3-year-old son, Ryan.

Adams, who came from Weedsport with his wife, Joann, and 8-year-old daughter, Makala, admitted he was a little nervous about testing his own skills in the rink.

“It's been about 20 years or so for me,” he said, thinking back to his last time on the ice.

Linda Kukiela, of Auburn, sat with her new camera in hand, ready to capture memorable moments from her rinkside seat.

“We come every year,” she said. “We just want to make a memory for them.”

Bill Kukiela agreed the event is an opportune time to spend with their daughters, Amber, 14, Emily, 8.

“It's a good thing for the kids to do,” he said.

A majority of the guests had children in tow. Roger Oderstreet enjoyed a cup of coffee while watching his two children skate with his niece, Shania.

“It's the topic for New Year's. We come down every year,” he said while taking jackets from daughter, Shelina, and son, Stephon, who were just getting warmed up on the ice.

The evening isn't always about the children, though. Karen Syr, of Port Byron, and Bob Deverell, of Weedsport, were anxious for their first - and last - skate of 2007.

“He loves for me to come out once every year and this is it,” Syr said while getting ready for a grown-up evening with Deverell on the ice. “It keeps you young, it's the fountain of youth.”

There was a pretty good chance her teenage children would join them at some point in the evening, she added. The recreation center was already bustling just a half-hour into the festivities with several people planning to stay into the night.

“By midnight it really gets wild,” organizer Ellie Beck said.

The event sponsored by the city and Cayuga County Stop DWI program along with a host of others has enjoyed more success each year, she said.

“It's just another celebration for the community,” Beck said. “It's a different way to ring in the new year.”

Meanwhile, the Auburn Public Theater, at 108 Genesee St., was putting on a first-time event that owners hope will become a tradition downtown. At least five bands were slated to perform during an evening of music inspired by the APT Tuesday open-mic nights.

Tickets were not on sale ahead of time, but APT co-founder Brian Anderson expected a decent-size crowd of music lovers looking to ring in the new year in a laid-back setting.

“The phone just keeps ringing with people wondering what's going on tonight,” Anderson said. “We just want to bring people downtown, that's what the whole thing is about.”

Staff writer Shane Liebler can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 248 or shane.liebler@lee.net