Image from the Queen Mary’s Facebook event page.
Those looking to celebrate New Year’s Eve in and around downtown Long Beach can look forward to a free family-friendly event at Rainbow Harbor or a ticketed celebration aboard the Queen Mary.
Those attending the Downtown Long Beach Alliance’s (DLBA) free family-friendly celebration at Rainbow Harbor will get to enjoy a 9:00PM fireworks show, as well as children’s activities including face painting.
Waterfront merry makers staying up late will likely be able to see the Queen Mary’s midnight fireworks display, as the 15-minute-long show lights up the night in-sync to New Year’s Eve-themed music off the stern of the ship.
Not happening this year is the DLBA’s ticketed party on Pine Avenue, which brought headliners including Fitz & the Tantrums and St. Paul and the Broken Bones to Long Beach. DLBA President and CEO Kraig Kojian said a number of factors went into the decision to not produce a gated New Year’s Eve show this year.
“Based on increased production costs, the threat of inclement weather that affects ticket sales, the negative impact of street closures to Downtown residents, the number of New Year’s Eve events to attend in the region, the lack of general consensus by Pine Avenue area stakeholders to support a gated event, and the financial risks the organization assumes, the DLBA Executive Committee decided not to produce a ticketed festival this year, but supported producing a free, family-friendly event during the evening at the Waterfront,” Kojian said in a statement.
DLBA will also be supporting downtown area restaurants for any New Year’s Eve festivities and packages they plan on offering guests, Kojian stated.
Guests of the Queen Mary’s ticketed event can walk throughout the decks, ballrooms and salons to experience multiple celebrations. Las Vegas-style showgirls will kick off the evening and a variety of live music will play throughout the night including top-40 hits from DJ Carisma on the Verandah Deck Gazebo and EDM favorites from DJ Cutt in the Queen’s Salon. Country music star, Daniel Bonte and the Bona Fide, will perform in the Royal Salon and dueling pianos will take over the Britannia Salon.
“The Queen Mary’s New Year’s Eve extravaganza offers a celebration for everyone,” stated the release. “Guests can choose to enjoy a more mellow night with delicious food, dazzling drinks, and live entertainment, or dance the night away in a country bar or club-like atmosphere. The annually sold-out event caters to nightlife lovers of all tastes.”
New Year’s Eve on The Queen Mary runs from 8:00PM to 1:00AM. Guests must be 21 years or older to attend. Tickets are $119 per person. Reservations for dining at Queen Mary’s restaurants are required. For more information, pricing, hotel packages and more, visit the website here or call (877) 342-0742.
For more info about DLBA’s New Year’s Eve at the Waterfront, visit the website here.