Pine Avenue was alive and jumping on New Year’s Eve, the culmination of more than a month of planning and fundraising as thousands of partiers crammed between Broadway and 1st Street in a Times Square-esque celebration. Photographer Evan Kelly (who provided the pictures below) estimated at least 4,000 people in attendance, while the Press-Telegram noted around 7,500.
Councilmember Suja Lowenthal led the countdown on stage as Dusty Rhodes & The River Band, Delta Nove and Samba La entertained the crowd on stage. The event was hosted and funded by the Convention Visitors Bureau, Downtown Long Beach Associates (DLBA), Port of Long Beach and others.
Will downtown Long Beach have more commercial success in 2009 after welcoming the year with a bang?
Dusty Rhodes & The River Band keep downtown Long Beach rockin’.
Smooth’s owner and event organizer John Morris (left) on stage.
Second District Councilmember Suja Lowenthal addresses the masses.
By Ryan ZumMallen, Managing Editor
Disclosure: Smooth’s, the DLBA and Port of Long Beach are advertisers of the lbpost.com