Why NYE Fireworks & House Parties Top Bars & Promoter Events
I was packed into a tight area near Jackson Square in New Orleans, with several thousand people around me and more arriving every second.
I had a six-pack in my hand, pulled out a beer and gave a “cheers” to my buddy Luau Larry. Right about then, two cute girls came up next to us, smiled and cheered with us.
“Isn’t this great!,” I said to Luau Larry.
We were gathered to await the New Year’s Eve fireworks show over the Mississippi River and it was at that point that I decided it was far better to be there – and any place with public celebrations – than in a bar for NYE.
New Orleans proved to be a great place to spend New Year’s Eve. In fact, after going to a few other locations, I decided it was the best and thus, have named it PubClub.com’s Top NYE Destination (this article has others around the world, along with mini-guides to each).
We had walked from Bourbon Street to Jackson Square and then went back to Bourbon Street after the fireworks. There were people everywhere and it was a party. A celebration, just the kind of thing you want when you’re partying on New Year’s Eve. Not once did we pay an outrageous cover charge or wait in a long line just because it’s NYE.
Other than book the trip, we did not have to plan out anything well in advance. In fact, our New Year’s Eve plans involved just walking down Bourbon Street and around the French Quarter and react to what was happening in front of us.
I’ve also been to Las Vegas for New Year’s Eve. Several times, in fact. The Fremont Street Experience is not that great, frankly (it’s mostly locals and older people who desert the place by about 1 a.m., plus you have to pay to get into it) so if you go I highly urge you to go to The Strip for it’s NYE party. That’s all free and fireworks are launched over the top of the casinos.
That’s a great scene and of course, you can take your own drinks onto the street. Afterward, you can go into the casinos and that’s fun but things are so scattered if you want to party with the massive you’ve got to go in and out of several places.
I preferred New Orleans because there was one single destination to go after the fireworks and that was Bourbon Street.
Another year, Luau Larry and I went to a totally different destination for New Year’s: Foxy’s Bar in the British Virgin Islands. I had hear about this legendary party in the Caribbean for years and finally got to experience it.
And it was our type of place – we dressed in shorts, flip flops and a t-shirt. There was no cover charge, just a great time with people from all over North America.
We also went the opposite spectrum another year, to the ski resort of Whistler-Blackcomb. It was great to ski on New Year’s Eve and then party but after ski apres, all the bars informed us that in the evening, they would be charging some crazy cover charge (one sports bar wanted 50 bucks!) so I spent the next two hours going bar to bar to find a place to party that night without feeling we were getting ripped off by a cover charge.
I found one, which had a band and charged its usual $10 cover. We had a blast.
There’s one thing I’ve decided about NYE from these and other experiences. I prefer the big (free) public events with fireworks to bars that charge ridiculous cover charges just because it’s New Year’s Eve. I don’t like that and avoid such places. (The next day, those same places are begging people to come into them; I say “no thank you!”
Promoter parties can be fun and great places to meet singles but you have to be sure it’s one with a good crowed and where you’re not paying crazy prices for drinks. The best advice I can give in this area is to check with people who have been to one of the parties from this promoter in the past.
If I’m not in a place like New Orleans, Vegas, Foxy’s or any of the other spot listed in PubClub’s Top 10 Destinations, then I’ll look for a house party.
Those can be really fun!
New Year’s cheers from PubClub.com!
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