The best ways to bring in the new year, Virginia-style.
The Bellevue Conference and Event Center in Chantilly.
Charlottesville Festival of the Arts New Year’s Celebration.
Moonlight Circus New Year’s performance.
Moonlight Circus.
Having survived and, hopefully, milked another year’s worth of experience for every savory drop of goodness it had to offer, do we not owe it to ourselves to celebrate the departure of 2016? We think yes. And to help make that happen, we’ve compiled a Commonwealth-wide list of activities we’re sure will set you up for a for a joyful night of dropping the ball.
CHANTILLY—Great Gatsby Themed Dance Party
This year the Bellevue Conference & Event Center—one of the state’s most luxurious and lavish venues—is hosting what looks to be a fantastically decadent New Year’s affair. With an interior featuring vaulted 30-foot ceilings, marble floors, 26 massive crystal chandeliers, 25 Corinthian pillars, chic modern lounge areas, a rooftop sky lounge and a swanky buffet, if there ever was a place for a Gatsby party, this is it. Eight DJs (with Paul “DJ Pauly D” DeVecchio of MTV fame headlining), live bands, professional dancers and a mock-casino will provide the entertainment. But of course, formal 1920s era attire is requisite. TheBellevueVA.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE—Festival of the Arts
This year will mark the 35th annual New Year’s celebration in downtown Charlottesville, the second oldest in the state. Throughout the day the city’s downtown mall will feature a range of events both public and private. For kids, there are free activities like admission to the Virginia Discovery Museum, face-painting, puppet shows and a ‘bubble stomp’—a stretch of sidewalk covered in giant bubblewrap—and the Paramount is offering a daylong run of world-class magic-shows with Eric Jones. From bluegrass to African beats to jazz, musical offerings abound in nearly every venue in town. Additionally, the downtown pavilion will be putting on laser light shows throughout the night. FirstNightVA.org
RICHMOND—Moonlight Circus
Held at the Doubletree by Hilton in Midlothian, this event will feature a troupe of live circus performers strutting their stuff throughout the night. Starting at 9 p.m. and going until 2 a.m., a program of continual performances will take place against a backdrop of live DJs—with Richmond’s own Carter Baldwin headlining. Moonlight performers will showcase acrobatic and contortionist skills, stunningly choreographed dance acts (belly and silks included), lyre, corde lisse and chandelier aerials, and, yes, a hardy dose of nonsensical clowning. Moonlight-Circus.com
WINCHESTER—First Night in the Downtown Mall
For the last 30 years, Winchester’s historic downtown has hosted one heck of a New Year’s Eve party. Local businesses, artists, performers and a small army of volunteers work together to curate an experience natives have come to know and love, and outsiders will surely find worthy of a visit. The event is held in the city’s downtown outdoor mall, and whether you’re out for a romantic date or looking for something to do with the kids, possibilities run the gamut. Local businesses, nonprofits and organizations sponsor a daylong program starting at 11 a.m., with specifically adult-oriented activities (such as music and comedy shows) taking place at bars and restaurants, mixed-age events (brass band, orchestral concert, etc.) held at churches or other community venues, and children-specific programming (like balloon animals, magicians, clowns, a reptile show and other such ballyhoos) interspersed throughout. At the midnight hour, a giant Christmas-light apple drops as fireworks explode over the city. FirstNightWinchester.com
