It’s almost 2016! We say you should welcome the new year by doing whatever it is that will make you happier in the coming year. Go hard, go home — however you do it, set the tone.
Feel like you need more cheese in your life? Cozy on up with a wheel. Feeling like it’s not quite New Years unless you have a hot n’ heavy make out sesh at midnight? Get out there, girl! Gotta dance? There’s some of that happening, for sure.
Here are some ideas we came up with that just might help you get down with 2016.
Ball rising ceremony
Balls, as we know them, drop. But not here in Northampton.
Join the intoxicated masses in filling downtown Hamp
and watching that big ol’ ball defy gravity.
Fireworks
If a rising ball doesn’t boil your blood, how about fireworks? Nothing like some booming bursts of color to ring in the new year.
Catch some sweet music
On Dec. 31 the Valley will come alive with tunes. First Night Northampton will have music and fun all day at 21 different downtown venues. Rubblebucket, Bella’s Bartok, and And The Kids are playing Gateway City Arts. B-boom. Mammal Dap hosts the New Year’s Ball at Bishops, and Sugar Biscuit mixes it up NYE style with a Primal Light Revival Queer Dance Party at The Basement. Woop, woop!
Have a bonfire
Don’t want to be around a bunch of drunk people, but still want to be a bit on the social side? Have a bonfire! Warming beverages, friends, and fire make for a fantastic New Years. Add some s’mores and you’re good to go!
Fire dance
Speaking of fire, Hope and Olive in Greenfield boasts a Polynesian tiki night and a cocktail menu to match. Yum! And, naturally, there’ll be a 1 a.m. fire dance.
First Night Jr.
If you know you’re not going to make it to midnight, but still want to party family-style, check out First Night Jr. in Holyoke. For the 19th incarnation of this annual event, the theme is Frozen. Activities are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Holyoke Merry-Go-Round, 221 Appleton St., and include unlimited rides on the merry-go-round, dancing, indoor skating with Frozen characters, admission to the Children’s Museum and Volleyball Hall of Fame, Forest Park Zoo on the Go, children’s musician Roger Tinknell, Maggie the Clown, face painting, ice sculpture by Mike Rondeau, the Holyoke High School Marching Band, and a ball drop. Tickets are $8 each.
Skid Marks you may want to see
Storrowtown Tavern is hosting a buffet and band on NYE. The Skid Marks, a rock and roll cover band that focuses on the swinging rockabilly style of the ’50s and ’60s, will play while guests enjoy apps, buffet, and champagne. Tickets are $55 each. Doors open at 6 p.m., Storrowtown Tavern & Carriage House, 1305 Memorial Ave., West Springfield, Facebook.com/TheSkidMarks.
Back for the future
No one rocks like Bach! Check out the Berkshire Bach Ensemble’s performance under the director of the harpsichordist Kenneth Cooper and joined by a cast of guest artists as they play Vivaldi, Correlli, and of course, Bach. Tickets are $40-$85. Doors open at 6 p.m., The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center, 14 Castle St., Great Barrington.
Three Stooges Marathon
Why you little! Nyuck! Nyuck! Nyuck! Oof! Hey, I resemble that remark!
If all that sounded good to you, stay home this New Year’s and watch the Three Stooges Marathon on the CW. Fill the coffee table with snacks and settle in for a night of easy laughs with pratfalls and vaudeville. Use the Curly Joe episodes to stretch your legs and hit the bathroom. And to keep things on an even keel, no one mention Niagara Falls!•
