Bright Night Providence has a bright looking future. Bright Night Providence replaces First Night this year.

"Considering where we started, we're doing extremely well," says Bright Night spokesman Adam Gertsacov. "Will it be as big as First Night? No. But if people decide to come to downtown Providence on New Year's Eve I think we can promise that they'll have a good time. At the very least, the Renaissance City won't have to ring in the new year in the dark."

Gertsacov, makes his living as a professional clown and street performer, reports that Bright Night has raised nearly $50,000 -- or about half the amount organizers say they need to put on a good show.

Ticket sales, food concessions and other sources should provide the remainder of the money, according to Gertsacov. (Note: Tickets for Bright Night are $10 and are available at all BankRI branches and through the ArtTix network. See below for more information.)

"Ultimately, Bright Night was going to happen no matter how much money we raised," Gertsacov says. "But for $100,000, we knew we could do something really special. And now we're within striking distance."

Planning for Bright Night began last summer, after economic troubles forced Providence's previous First Night celebration to hang up its noisemakers and party hats for the first year since 1985.

At the time, First Night officials held out the possibility of reviving the event when economic conditions improved. Due to the city facing its first "dark" New Year's Eve in nearly two decades, Gertsacov and other local artists decided to take matters into their own hands.

"The city needs a New Year's Eve event," says Gertsacov. "If First Night wasn't going to happen, then something had to take its place."

Bright Night's prospects looked good in October, when Mayor David N. Cicilline pledged $25,000 to the effort. Since then, organizers have raised another $25,000, mainly from local businesses.

Among Bright Night's largest sponsors are BankRI, real estate consultants CB Richard Ellis, and the sensor division of electronics giant Texas Instruments, based in Attleboro. Other contributors include the law firm of Edwards and Angell and parking lot operator MetroPark.

The Providence Phoenix, Citadel Communications, NBC-Channel 10 and Spanish-language radio station Poder 1110 have signed on as media sponsors for ringing in 2004.

As for performers, New Year's revelers will find a Who's Who of local artists and arts groups. Among them: the Big Nazo Puppets, Providence Mandolin Orchestra, Fusionworks Dance Company and Celtic band Pendragon, as well as storytellers Mark Binder, Valerie Tutson and Len Cabral.

Many of these performers are veterans of First Nights past.

In all, organizers expect to have about 100 performers appearing at more than a dozen locations, including the Providence Performing Arts Center, the RISD Auditorium, AS220 and Perishable Theatre.

According to the Bright Night Web site (www.brightnight.org), most of the action will take place between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m., with a kickoff ceremony at Providence City Hall slated for 5:30 p.m.

In addition, a partial New Year's Eve WaterFire is scheduled from 9 p.m. to midnight in Waterplace Park. The lighting will run concurrently with Bright Night, although visitors will not have to pay to see it.

"Having a WaterFire as part of Bright Night has been one of our goals from the beginning," Gertsacov says. "It gives us instant credibility."

At the same time, Gertsacov concedes that Bright Night will be a smaller and more localized event than First Night. There will be no Chinese acrobats, as there were last year. And the number of venues and performers is less than half of what First Night mustered last year.

Still, Gertsacov says, bigger isn't always better.

"First Night was a great event, but as it got bigger it also became less local," he says. "Bright Night will be smaller, but it will also be a better showcase for local artists and performers."

Bright Night Providence will take place at various downtown locations on Dec. 31, 2003, beginning with a 5:30 p.m. opening ceremony at City Hall. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at ArtTix (www.arttixri.com) or at any BankRI branch. After Dec. 26, tickets will be sold at the customer service kiosk at Providence Place mall.

For more information visit the Bright Night Web site at www.brightnight.org