This year’s end is fast approaching and soon, it’ll be time to ring in 2016.
If you’re still not sure where you’ll have your champagne toast come midnight–or if you’re going to being raising a glass in swanky garb or jeans and flip flops–we’ve got a last-minute look at some celebrations in this special New Year’s Eve edition of our weekly arts and entertainment roundup. You can find most of these items on The Scene, our free community events calendar.
If live music and libations are what you’re after, Flytrap Brewing, 319 Walnut St. in the Brooklyn Arts District, hosts its second annual Brew Year’s Eve Party from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. Local folk rock band Striking Copper will go on starting at 9:30 and keep the music going until after midnight.
2 Bros Coastal Cuisine food truck will be onsite to debut a deluxe menu, including grilled beef tenderloin crostini and blue mac and cheese fritters with truffle dip. And the party will mark the first installment of Flytrap’s Endangered Series, a bottling project of extremely rare beers. The brewery will showcase its Apricot Saison bottles conditioned with champagne yeast for tap-room enjoyment only. If any bottles remain after Brew Year’s, the Saison will also be made available for take-away with a two-bottle limit.
Just down the road in the heart of downtown, beloved rockabilly outfit The Phantom Playboys takes the stage at The Calico Room, 107 S. Front St., at 10 p.m. to celebrate the coming of 2016. Calico will be handing out complimentary champagne and party favors. Admission is $10.
And just a hop away from downtown, Burnt Mill Creek, 2101 Market St., hosts the SOP Jazz Band featuring Wilmington legend Benny Hill. Catch the Food Truck will roll in around 7:30 p.m. and stay until 11:30 and the music will go from about 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. There is no cover charge, and attendees are encouraged to come as casual or as classy as they desire.
If a classy affair is indeed what you crave, Beau Rivage Golf and Resort, 649 Rivage Promenade, is hosting a New Year’s Eve gala from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. to benefit the New Hanover Regional Medical Center Rehabilitation Hospital. Tickets are $60 per person and include a complimentary drink and a champagne toast at midnight. There will also be heavy hors d’oeuvres, music, party favors and a cash bar. Hotel room packages are available for an additional $75 and will include a complimentary bottle of champagne.
And Thalian Hall’s annual New Year’s Eve Gala gets underway at 7 p.m., with dinner, drinks, dessert and a performance of the Broadway musical, “Memphis,” at the historic theater house at 310 Chestnut St. After the show, welcome in 2016 with a live DJ, dancing and champagne toast. Tickets are $125.
Or if you’d rather round out 2015 with some laughter, Fake Brothers presents “Foreplay,” an evening of raucous sketch comedy and improv, at City Stage, 21 N. Front St. The performance features live music from William Small and Justin Lacy. There will also be an open bar, DJ and dance party. An all-inclusive pass is available for $50. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the drinks begin getting poured at 9:30.
TheatreNOW, 19 S. Tenth St., celebrates drunken revelry in style with its New Year’s Eve Bacchanalia. The event–a nod to the Roman festival of Bacchus, the god of wine–includes flame and aerial acts, live music, comedy and more. And the dinner theater is offering up a four-course meal, party favors and a champagne toast. Tickets are $85. TheatreNOW will hold two seatings–6 and 9:30 p.m.–for the show.
And comedian Chris Fairbanks brings his stand-up show to Dead Crow Comedy Room, 265 N. Front St., for two shows at 8 and 10 p.m. The second show includes a champagne toast and ball drop at midnight. Fairbanks, also an accomplished commercial artist and illustrator, has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Tickets are $20 for the 8 p.m. show and $25 for the 10 p.m. show.
If you just want a low-key night away from the downtown Wilmington crowd, Sweet n’ Savory Cafe, 1611 Pavilion Place, will once again serve up a New Year’s Eve dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. This year, though, the popular eatery has thrown out the formal four-course approach in favor of its current regular menu. But there will be some holiday-themed blackboard specials and one of the largest wine lists in town. Reservations are not required but do guarantee a table.
Over in Ogden, Fermental, 7250-B Market St., will play host to the soul, funk and reggae of DT3, as well as local folksters Kyle Lindley and Nick Simon, beginning at 8 p.m. T’Geaux Boys will make a pit stop and there will be a champagne toast at midnight. Admission is free.
If you were planning to head to Carolina Beach for New Year’s Eve, Island of Lights has canceled its celebration at the boardwalk due to the threat of inclement weather.
Hilary Snow is a reporter at Port City Daily. Reach her at hilary.s@portcitydaily.com.
