We like our Mother's Day to be brunchy and flowery, if possible, and Halloween should arrive with enough eerie qualities to make the spine tingle.
As for New Year's Eve? Razzmatazz is the operative word here. Our drinks should be full of fizzy bubbles, our bands should be boisterous, and as for a light show? We want it, be it the sparkle created by a disco ball, some old-school fireworks, or a 3D spectacle cast on the side of a huge iconic building.
There's a place to find this last bit of visual razzmatazz, and for free, on Dec. 31, 2015. We speak of none other than Grand Park, which has gotten itself very much into the business of celebrating the final day of the year with style, dash, and no cash.
Well, the "no cash" part of N.Y.E.L.A. is for the attendees, who'll pay nothing to join the multi-block spectacular, which'll stretch from the long park to The Music Center Plaza. Dozens of food vendors will be on the grounds, so do bring some money to eat dinner, if you want, but as for paying to get in? Nope.
Bands and DJs'll be doing the get-groovin' thing — hello Waterbed, Lost Midas, and Chris Douridas, among many other talents, hello hello — and as for that aforementioned razzmatazz? Look up at our magnificent City Hall, where "a spectacular 3D projection countdown to midnight" will illuminate not one but two sides of the structure.
More light projections of the animated, wowza sort are in store at both the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion and the Hall of Records. These projections will all be "interconnected," and, yep, this is a first, if you've attended in past years and think you know the score. (You do, of course, but count on the score to get even razzmatazzier this year.)
New Year's Eve, beyond being about razzmatazz, is also about numbers, what with the big countdown and all. So here are a few to chew on as you catch Metro for downtown: The celebration encompasses some 90 acres, with over 50,000 revelers expected to attend the third year of this party. And the City Hall light show'll use all 22 stories of the much-photographed building.
The Scene
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As for dollars you'll pay to attend? Once again, zero. There's a nice number to hear on a night that's synonymous with razzmatazz, a wonderful thing that too often doesn't come cheap or, in the case of Grand Park's grand NYE bash, for free.
Hours? It's on from 8 o'clock in the evening to 1 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2016.
Razzmatazz? It's a quality that's impossible to quantify or county, but, like Halloween's eerie or the flowery nature of Mother's Day, we like it best on New Year's Eve.
