FAIRHOPE, Ala. — The singing of “Auld Lang Syne” took on new meaning this year at the New Year’s Eve celebration in downtown Fairhope.

“This year was special because it kicked off the Centennnial celebration,” said city spokesperson Sherry Sullivan.

The title of the Scottish song that has rung in the New Year at celebrations around the world, since at least the early 18th Century, has been translated to mean “long long ago” or “days gone by.”

The city Fairhope was founded 100 years ago on April 25, 1908, and a number of activities are planned during 2008 to celebrate the centennial anniversary of the municipality, Sullivan said.

She said the number “100” was added in lights this year to the glowing ball that dropped at midnight near the main stage at the intersection of Fairhope Avenue and Church Street.

Peforming on that stage for the ninth year in a row, the Target Band from Mobile played a selection of classic rock tunes and contemporary hits from 8:30 p.m. until after midnight.

“We have been playing since the millenium (at the event),” said lead vocalist and keyboard player Tom Ehman. “It’s always great fun for us. There were thousands of people this year, many of them dancing. We could see people all the way down the street for blocks.”

Sullivan said that local police estimated the crowd at approximately 4,500 throughout the evening and at about 3,000 at midnight.

The city’s main streets are closed during the popular annual event. This year almost two dozen tents lined Fairhope Avenue, linking the street-party festivities from the main stage to the children’s stage at the intersection of Fairhope Avenue and Section Street.

“We had 22 tent rentals by individuals, neighborhood groups and churches,” Sullivan said. “Next year we expect to do 24 rentals. We always sell out before the tent rental deadline.”

She said the total budget for the event $15,000, but most of that was “recouped due to tent rentals.”

The children’s stage was set up in front of the tent of Dr. Music, a CD and record store in Fairhope. Wade Wellborn, its owner, was disc jockey at the event for the first time this year.

“We had a really good turn out from the very youngest kids to older teens,” he said. “They kept me busy requesting songs. The parents enjoyed watching the kids dance, and the kids enjoyed being on the stage.”

The annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Fairhope is advertised as a family-type event, and there were no major problems again this year, said Fairhope Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Craig Sawyer.

“There were no fights or crowd incidents,” he said. “It was pretty quiet. We don’t see the type of problems that larger cities see.”

He said there was one break-in during the night when cigarettes and beer were stolen from Greer’s Supermarket on Section Street.

“Other than that, it was a typical night,” he said. “We get a pretty good crowd.”

If the evening had one thing that could have gone better, it was the fireworks display.

“There was a small problem with the wiring on the fireworks, so they did not go off as timed,” Sullivan said. “But they eventually all went off.”

The Fairhope New Year’s Eve celebration was named one of the Top 10 tourist destination events in Alabama for December 2007, said Ami Simpson, public information manager of the Alabama Bureau of Tourism and Travel.