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New Year’s Eve is tough if you have kids. They want to stay up to midnight, you want access to a time machine so you can educate Pre-Kid You about “choices.”\u00a0But, we live in the now and on New Year’s Eve LB Littles is going to make things better for your family with its Noon Year’s Eve celebration<\/a>\u00a0at the Expo Arts Center in Bixby Knolls.<\/p>\n The celebration has the “ultimate family dance party” if it does say so itself. There will be DJs, interactive art and music stations. When the clock strikes 12\u2014noon, that is\u2014there will be a balloon drop and a milk and cookies “toast.” It’s just like how the grownups celebrate the new year, minus the lawlessness and regret.<\/p>\n Admission for kids 12 and under is free, for those 13 and older, it\u2019s $14. That not only gets you admission and access to all activities, but a raffle ticket for giveaways as well as complimentary snacks. A portion of all sales go to support the Bixby Knolls Community Foundation.<\/p>\n Expo Arts Center is located at 4321 Atlantic Avenue.<\/em><\/p>\n Long Beach admires two things: exceptional parallel parking skills and fireworks. As for the latter, we just can not get enough of the boom-boom. We don’t have one but TWO fireworks celebrations for the fourth of July. We shoot off fireworks to signal the beginning of the holiday season; who the hell does that<\/em>? And when New Year’s Eve comes around we double up on New York, Sydney and all the rest by doubling up on the picturesque explosions.<\/p>\n You probably are aware of the one that happens at midnight over the Queen Mary, but you may not know that there is a first fireworks display at 9 p.m. to coincide with the new year coming to the East Coast.<\/p>\n New Year’s Eve at The Waterfront<\/a> is organized by the Downtown Long Beach Alliance, held near the Pine Ave. Pier and is a free public event that provides an opportunity for people to celebrate the coming New Year with friends and family.<\/p>\n Downtown\u2019s waterfront amphitheater comes alive with a flurry of activities suitable for the whole family. Entertainment is sponsored by The Pike Outlets features live performances by Long Beach Unplugged, DJ Joey C, and The Aerial Butterflies who will perform aerial silk performances.<\/p>\n Food, beer and wine will be served by Q Smokehouse all night with special pricing from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. The kids\u2019 zone will host free face painting, two dance party bounce houses and an arts and crafts area.<\/p>\n And then, at 9 p.m., the sky will light up for an East Coast countdown with a 10-minute fireworks spectacular from Rainbow Harbor co-sponsored by Gladstone\u2019s Long Beach and Shoreline Village.<\/p>\n More fireworks.<\/p>\n But this one is on a boat, so, you know, there’s that. You see, you were thinking (hoping?) that because it\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve it precludes family time. Not true, Papa Smurf!\u00a0 Head down to the water and on to Harbor Breeze’s Family Fireworks Cruise<\/a>.<\/p>\n You\u2019ll shove off (boating term) at 7:30 p.m. and cruise around Long Beach Harbor, a narrated tour, where you might learn a thing or two. The city will be all lit up and lovely and, who knows, you may get close enough to spy some of the revelers get all lit up as well.<\/p>\n Then, at 9 p.m., you can watch that first batch of fireworks from a perfect spot, on the water, looking back at the city framing the fireworks. Nice.<\/p>\n For the third straight year, Aquarium of the Pacific is getting into the New Year\u2019s Eve spirit\u2014if that\u2019s a thing\u2014with its New Year\u2019s Eve Night Dive<\/a>. Much of the aquarium will be open to revelers, with live bands playing in the Great Hall and DJs spinning in the galleries.<\/p>\n You can dance, you can eat, you can drink and, if you\u2019re in the mood, you can stroll around and communicate with your fish friends, though, don’t be surprised if they are less than friendly, fish are notoriously stand-offish.<\/p>\n At midnight there will be a confetti drop in the Great Hall. If it all gets too much for you, you can head to the Ocean Theater which will be converted into the “Chill Zone” where chill music will be played while “trippy visuals” are projected on the screen. It’s like a Tuesday at Matthew McConaughey’s.<\/p>\n Aquarium of the Pacific is located at 100 Aquarium Way.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/New-Years-Eve-at-the-Waterfront_Twitter_IG-970x558.png\")
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Maya<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/0906-RUIZ-BUSSTATIONS-82-970x564.jpg\")
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