Heck yeah, we’ll be celebrating the end of 2020. Here are ways to do it safely at home
The year of 2020 is almost in the rear-view mirror. Whew.
Of course, the fact that you’re going to hang up a new calendar doesn’t mean that the pandemic is going to come to an instant end. (The flu pandemic of 1918 — the one you probably hadn’t heard of till 2020 — didn’t end until the spring of 1920.)
But there are some signs of hope, including vaccines, and it’s human nature to celebrate, even if you’ve been advised to do so without leaving your home or letting anyone else enter it.
So what are you doing New Year’s Eve?
The Olympian has a few suggestions. They are, like nearly all of the entertainment suggestions over the past nine months or so, virtual — but don’t let that stop you from appreciating the end of an indisputably strange and difficult year.
Drink bubbly with a crowd
Uncork & Unwind wine bar in Tumwater is bidding 2020 adieu French style with a New Year’s Eve virtual tasting of sparkling wines (including Champagne, a term which, as oenophiles know, is properly applied only to the bubbly made in that part of France). Sommelier Ben Clark of Meritage Wine Management will lead the tasting, which begins at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31. Price for 2-1/2 bottles of bubbly is $98. Call 360-943-9463 to order the wine, which you’ll pick it up ahead of time and taste at home while listening, learning and toasting on Zoom.
Celebrate with Pink Martini
Portland’s little orchestra has offered a handful of holiday shows recorded in the high-ceilinged, festively decorated living room of the group’s founder and pianist Thomas Lauderdale. The final one is “Good Riddance 2020,” featuring the whole band, special guests and Lauderdale’s 35-foot Christmas tree. The pre-recorded performance was put together with the help of social distancing, COVID-19 testing and, it would appear, some technological trickery. It airs at noon and again at 6 p.m. Dec. 31 and is available for streaming for 48 hours after that. Tickets are $15-$20.
See the Space Needle without braving I-5
The only thing you’ll miss is the drive. The actual Needle will be illuminated — in, according to marketing materials, “T Mobile’s distinctive magenta color” — but the big show will be virtual only, a development that would have a weird sci-fi feel if it weren’t, you know, 2020. “New Year’s at the Needle” can be seen at 11:35 p.m. Dec. 31, and the virtual spectacular will begin at 11:59 and 50 seconds. Tune in on KING 5 TV or stream it at http://king5.com or http://spaceneedle.com/newyears. Can’t wait? Check out the sneak peek on YouTube.
‘Visit’ a nearly empty Times Square
This will be the first New Year’s Eve ball drop at the normally packed New York City square to be held without spectators. (The first drop happened in 1907, heralding the arrival of 1908 — and while the ball didn’t drop in 1942 and 1943, when all lights in the city were dimmed during World War II, those years still saw crowds gather to celebrate.) The square will, as usual, host performers, including Jennifer Lopez, Cyndi Lauper and special guest Gloria Gaynor, whose anthem “I Will Survive” has taken on a new resonance in the face of a global pandemic. A limited number of essential workers — all physically distanced and masked —will be part of the festivities; such workers are being honored as “Heroes of 2020.” The whole event can seen online beginning at 3 p.m. Dec. 31 and culminating with the big moment at 9 p.m. — or midnight Eastern Standard Time.
Stay in for a night out
The big New Year’s Eve bash is for the most part only a memory this year. But Spirit Guides, a virtual cocktail company, is attempting an on-screen soiree reminiscent of the blow-outs of yore — the kind where people get dressed up, revel in seeing and being seen, have fancy cocktails and toast midnight with Champagne. The party, called “Nites-Out,” promises a “retro future” mix of live entertainment, DJed music and more, hosted by Greg Grunberg — whom the Spirit Guides website bills as a “galactic hero,” presumably because of his roles on NBC’s “Heroes” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.” And if you buy an expensive enough ticket (prices range from $25 to $250), you’ll get fancy cocktails and bubbly, too. The on-screen soiree begins at 9 p.m. Dec. 31.
This story was originally published December 25, 2020 at 5:45 AM.