Cedar City welcomes 2022 with inaugural New Year’s Bash

CEDAR CITY — Cedar City rang in the New Year with a night of family friendly musical entertainment, capped off by a fireworks show.

David Archuleta performs at “Cedar City New Year’s Bash,” Cedar City, Utah, Dec. 31, 2021 | Photo by Jeff Richards, St. George News / Cedar City News

Approximately 500 people gathered at Heritage Center Theater Friday evening for the inaugural “Cedar City New Year’s Bash,” which featured pop singer and native Utahn David Archuleta performing in concert.

Opening for Archuleta was a five-member local band called “The 8eez,” which played several favorite hits from the 1980s, including “We Built This City,” “Beat It,” “Sweet Dreams are Made of This” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.”

Archuleta then took the stage backed by a keyboardist and a drummer, and he performed several of his more popular hits, including “Movin’,” “Just Breathe” and “It’s Christmas Everyday.” He also sang a rousing cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “True Colors.” Intermittently throughout the performance, several fans approached the stage to greet Archuleta, who acknowledged them with appreciative fist bumps.

Following Archuleta’s performance, audience members went back out into the lobby for cupcakes and other refreshments and waited for midnight to arrive.

Shortly before 12 a.m., everyone went outside to count down the final seconds of 2021 and watch a short but spectacular fireworks show that wrapped up the evening with a bang.

Brad Abrams, the city’s outgoing events director, said he and other organizers are hoping the “Cedar City New Year’s Bash” will become an annual anchor event to attract people to Cedar City. The event also had the support of the Visit Cedar City-Brian Head Tourism Bureau, which paid for the fireworks show.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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