Thu 12/31
Maybe you like to go out and socialize on New Year’s Eve, but planning ahead, buying expensive tickets, getting an elaborate outfit together and booking a limo aren’t your thing. Look around — there are plenty of more casual and lower coast options for celebrating the end of one year and the beginning of the next. And some of them are even fun for the whole family.
For those who want to celebrate with the family, there are several options, including a daytime one. That, of course, is the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo’s annual Noon Years Eve party from 10am-1pm. The ball will drop at noon, and before and after, guests can enjoy music and dancing, ice carving, Professor Wylde’s Live Animal Show, and of course, the chance to watch lots of animals at play (or sleep, in the case of the big cats) in their beautiful habitat enclosures. Everything is free with zoo admission. And zoo parking is always free.
Afterwards, the party moves over the Metroparks Merwin’s wharf in the Flats. There from 1-7pm, there will be face painting, a magic show, a balloon artist and a kid-friendly buffet.
clevelandmetroparks.com/Zoo/Noon-Years-Eve
First Night Akron has been a tradition for 20 years, offering both indoor and outdoor activities all evening, leading up to the midnight fireworks display. For the cold-haters, there’ll also be a laser fireworks display inside the Knight Center at 9pm. But there’s much more. Entertainment of all types starts at 6pm at a bunch of different venues all within walking distance in downtown Akron, among them the Akron Civic Theatre, the Akron Art Museum and Summit Artspace. There’s jazz, folk, gospel, rock, Americana, blues, dance, theater performances and even a Chinese music ensemble, as well as hands-on activities for kids. Admission to everything is $10; kids under 10 are free.
You can also head into downtown Chagrin Falls where, at 11:50, you can witness the Popcorn Ball Drop and the world premier of two songs about Chagrin Falls by composer/lyricist Tom Luckay, featuring music director/arranger/keyboard player Marge Adler and vocalists Greg Violand, Natalie Green and Kristin Netzband. It takes place outdoors at the triangle.
The jam-band crowd can find a landing place at the Beachland Ballroom where local tribute band Into the Blue will be offering their Grateful Dead revival, starting at 9pm. The $15 admission includes munchies and a champagne toast at midnight.
They’ll also be jammin’ with a funky hip-hop vibe over at the Grog Shop, where a gaggle of the area’s younger, original jam-style bands, inspired by the likes of Sublime and 311, will be playing. A Funky Nasty New Year’s Eve features Tropidelic, Vibe & Direct, Wanyama and Drunken Sunday, with music starting at 9pm. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door.
grogshop.gs/a-funk-nasty-new-year-s-eve-w-tropidelic-vibe-direct-wanyama
Mahall’s 20 Lanes in Lakewood has been screening the lavish films of Australian director Baz Luhrmann, leading up to its New Year’s Eve Deco + Dance, inspired by such films as Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby. DJs Himiko Gogo & DJ Road Chief provide the music, VJ Wes Johansen will contribute video installations, you can dress up extravagantly or not. Admission is $5 at the door.
mahalls20lanes.getn2.it/baz-luhrmann-s-deco-dance-new-years-eve
If you’re not the celebrating sort and just want to score a drink, Now That’s Class takes a sort of punk rock attitude toward New Year’s Eve. “Our Shitty Annual NYE Party” reads their listing, and they boast that it’s nothing special — free at the door, drinks the usual price, unlimited jukebox credit. “Come here on that anticlimactic and tedious night, and make like it’s any other night of the year, which it is,” they say.