first annual

informal Indicating the first of an event that is intended to be held annually in the future. (Use of the phrase is often discouraged, especially in formal writing, as an event is not considered to be annual until it has occurred in at least two years consecutively.) Hello, and welcome to the first annual Hawkins Family Fun Run! Thank you all for coming out to the first annual Lawrenceton Fall Festival! They keep saying it's the first annual Christmas party, but isn't "first annual" kind of an oxymoron? How can something happening for the first time also be annual?