FORT SMITH (KFSM) - One way you could ring in the new year is by heading to the Fort Smith Mayor's countdown celebration Wednesday night (Dec.31). It's all happening at the Fort Smith Convention Center downtown.
Thousands of people will be coming to say goodbye to 2014. The mayor said it's been a great year for the city of Fort Smith, but now it's time to look forward for the new year.
Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders said a lot of positive things have happened around town over the past year. "We don't see those, but people coming from out of town see a lot of good things happening in Fort Smith," said Mayor Sandy Sanders.
While statistics show the city has continued to recover from the recession, the mayor said families around town are still working to totally bounce back. "We've had more than 3,000 jobs announced in the last couple of years and new jobs are coming in," said Sanders.
Once the clock strikes midnight, the mayor said it'll be time to move on and look ahead to all of the great things in store for 2015. "Lots of things happening next year," said Sanders.
"One of the big things we will have next year is the opening of Parrot Island," according to Sanders.
City leaders said even though there are lots of fun things in the works, there's also a lot of work still to be done in 2015. This includes cleaning up the sewage problem that's been in place for decades.
According to Mayor Sanders, the city will set priorities on what things they need to do and what has to happen first.
The celebration is free for all ages. Organizers said to bring two canned food items and receive five free tickets for games. All items collected will then be donated to the Children's Emergency Shelter.
The party starts at 8:00 p.m. and ends at midnight.