New Year’s Eve 2023 In Martinez: Balloon Drops, Dance Parties

MARTINEZ, CA — As 2022 comes to a close, there are plenty of ways for Martinez residents to ring in 2023.

From dance parties and a casino night to a masquerade party, holiday light displays, ice skating or a famous local singer performing at the Bankhead, here are some of the most exciting New Year’s Eve events going on in the area.

Martinez

New Year's Eve Party with the Killbillies. With special prix-fixe dinner at Roxx on Main. 9 p.m.; $85 per person advance tickets

Concord

'Ice At The Veranda' Outdoor, Holiday Skating Rink; 11 a.m.- 6 p.m.; Tickets start at $17

Walnut Creek

New Year's Eve 2023 - Dance Party Countdown with Neon Velvet at Sakimoto Sushi, Walnut Creek; 9 p.m.; Tickets start at $50

New Year's Eve Casino Night. At the Elks Lodge with dinner & dancing. Dec. 31: bar opens at 4:30, dinner at 6, casino opens at 7.

New Year's Eve at The Garden Walnut Creek. Music by DJ Rich Era. Champagne toast and balloon drop; Doors open at 7:30 p.m.; Tickets $75

Alameda

New Year's Eve Gala: USS Hornet. Ring in the New Year with live music, food & dancing; doors open at 7:30 p.m.; Tickets $60-99

Livermore

NYE 2023 Masquerade Party. Ring in the New Year at airport's one-of-a-kind Elevation LVK.; 9 p.m.; Tickets start at $50/person

New Year's Eve with Meredith McHenry. Evening concludes with sparkling wine toast & desserts in Bankhead lobby.; 8 p.m.; Tickets $20-50

Oakland

Glowfari: Holiday Lantern Festival: Oakland Zoo; 5 - 9 p.m.; Tickets $20-$24

Piedmont

Family-Friendly Noon Year's Eve. With music, crafts, & balloon drop. 11 a.m.; Tickets $10/person

San Ramon

New Year's Eve Party 2023 Gaucho Nightclub San Ramon; 9 p.m.; Tickets start at $50

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is, of course, the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Various cities have adopted their own iterations of the event — the Peach Drop in Atlanta, the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse for gaining weight, for example, and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.