ORANGE COUNTY NEW YEARS EVENTS

If you’re looking for fun and fabulous Orange County New Year events….you’ve come to the right place.  Listed below you will find New Year’s Day and New Year’s Eve events in our fine Orange County cities, that at the time of this posting, are scheduled to ring in the new year with a bang.

HISTORY OF THE TIME SQUARE NEW YEAR’S EVE BALL
Courtesy of https://www.timessquarenyc.org/
“The Official Times Square Website”

Revelers began celebrating New Year’s Eve in Times Square as early as 1904, but it was in 1907 that the New Year’s Eve Ball made its maiden descent from the flagpole atop One Times Square. Seven versions of the Ball have been designed to signal the New Year.

The first New Year’s Eve Ball, made of iron and wood and adorned with one hundred 25-watt light bulbs, was 5 feet in diameter and weighed 700 pounds. It was built by a young immigrant metalworker named Jacob Starr, and for most of the twentieth century the company he founded, sign maker Artkraft Strauss, was responsible for lowering the Ball.

As part of the 1907-1908 festivities, waiters in the fabled “lobster palaces” and other deluxe eateries in hotels surrounding Times Square were supplied with battery-powered top hats emblazoned with the numbers “1908” fashioned of tiny light bulbs. At the stroke of midnight, they all “flipped their lids” and the year on their foreheads lit up in conjunction with the numbers “1908” on the parapet of the Times Tower lighting up to signal the arrival of the new year.

The Ball has been lowered every year since 1907, with the exceptions of 1942 and 1943, when the ceremony was suspended due to the wartime “dimout” of lights in New York City. Nevertheless, the crowds still gathered in Times Square in those years and greeted the New Year with a minute of silence followed by the ringing of chimes from sound trucks parked at the base of the tower—a harkening-back to the earlier celebrations at Trinity Church, where crowds would gather to “ring out the old, ring in the new.”

In 1920, a 400 pound Ball made entirely of wrought iron replaced the original. In 1955, the iron Ball was replaced with an aluminum Ball weighing a mere 150 pounds. This aluminum Ball remained unchanged until the 1980s, when red light bulbs and the addition of a green stem converted the Ball into an apple for the “I Love New York” marketing campaign from 1981 until 1988. After seven years, the traditional glowing white Ball with white light bulbs and without the green stem returned to brightly light the sky above Times Square. In 1995, the Ball was upgraded with aluminum skin, rhinestones, strobes, and computer controls, but the aluminum Ball was lowered for the last time in 1998.

For Times Square 2000, the millennium celebration at the Crossroads of the World, the New Year’s Eve Ball was completely redesigned by Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting. The crystal Ball combined the latest in lighting technology with the most traditional of materials, reminding us of our past as we gazed into the future and the beginning of a new millennium.
In 2007, for the 100th anniversary of the Times Square Ball Drop tradition, Waterford Crystal and Philips Lighting crafted a spectacular new LED crystal Ball. The incandescent and halogen bulbs of the past century were replaced by state-of-the-art Philips Luxeon LED lighting technology that dramatically increased the brightness and color capabilities of the Ball.

The beauty and energy efficiency of the Centennial Ball inspired the building owners of One Times Square to build the permanent Big Ball weighing nearly six tons and twelve feet in diameter. The 2,688 Waterford Crystal triangles are illuminated by 32,256 Philips Luxeon LEDs. This Big Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball is now a year-round attraction sparkling above Times Square  in full public view January through December.

ABOUT “TIME-BALLS”

The actual notion of a ball “dropping” to signal the passage of time dates back long before New Year’s Eve was ever celebrated in Times Square. The first “time-ball” was installed atop England’s Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o’clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).

Around 150 public time-balls are believed to have been installed around the world after the success at Greenwich, though few survive and still work. The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, where a time-ball descends from a flagpole at noon each day – and of course, once a year in Times Square, where it marks the stroke of midnight not for a few ships’ captains, but for over one billion people watching worldwide.

Check out the Orange County New Years list below.  And if you have one you’d like us to add, please let us know. We at my Local OC hope you have a safe New Years. And the year 2022 brings health, happiness, and prosperity.

 

The Time Square Ball Dropping on 12/31/2002

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
From the Team @ My Local OC

Following is a list of
NEW YEARS EVENTS IN ORANGE COUNTY
If your favorite isn’t listed, please let us know, and we will ad it.

Anaheim   Dec. 31    New Year 2024   400 W Disney Way   Website

Anaheim   Dec. 31    NEW YEAR’S EVE at THE STUFFED POTATO Featuring THE FAMILY    440 South Anaheim Boulevard   Website

Anaheim   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Celebration  1601 South Anaheim Boulevard  Website

Anaheim   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Magic With David Minkin   900 Disneyland Drive    Website

Anaheim   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Party with Shakedown80s and The Hive Sports Bar and Grill    6263 E Santa Ana Canyon Rd   Website

Buena Park   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve at Knott’s Berry Farm   8039 Beach Blvd   Website

Costa Mesa   Dec. 31    2024 NYE Countdown – Biggest Costa Mesa New Years Eve Celebration   1870 Harbor Blvd   Website

Costa Mesa   Dec. 31    Irish New Year’s Eve, with Terry & Rob    130 East 17th St   Website

Costa Mesa   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Flamenco Dinner Show Experience at Cafe Sevilla     1870 Harbor Boulevard    Website

Costa Mesa   Dec. 30    Salute to Vienna New Year’s Concert    600 Town Center Dr   Website

Costa Mesa   Dec. 31   Golden Groove: NYE ’24 at STRUT Bar & Club    719 West 19th Street   Website

Costa Mesa   Dec. 31    Insomniac presents: deadmau5 (New Year’s Eve)    1875 Newport Blvd. Suite B245  Website

Dana Point   Dec. 31   New Year’s Flocking Eve w/ Flock of 80s @ Stillwater    24701 Del Prado   Website   

Fullerton   Dec. 31    ROCKSTALLION New Year’s Eve Countdown to 2024 at ROSCOE’S Famous Deli    116 W Commonwealth Ave   Website

Fullerton  Dec. 31    Crawl ‘Til The Ball Falls: NYE Bar Crawl 2024 – Orange County    110 East Commonwealth Avenue  Website 

Garden Grove   Dec. 31    NOVA’S NEW YEAR’S EVE 2024 VEGAS PARTY    12361 Chapman Ave   Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    Posh OC New Year’s Eve Party 2024    21080 Pacific Coast Hwy   Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    Run In The New Year 5k/10k/Half Marathon    17243 Pacific Coast Highway   Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    Elite Nye Party    300 Pacific Coast Highway   Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Party and Dinner!   180 5th Street    Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    80’s NEW YEAR’S EVE BASH featuring THE REFLEXX    7561 Center Ave #49   Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    A Very NEW WAVE New Year   8901 Warner Avenue    Website

Huntington Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Party at Treehouse Lounge    21080 California 1   Website

Irvine   Dec. 31    New Year Eve Bachata & Salsa Party   17811 Sky Park Circle #Suite LM   Website

Irvine   Dec. 31    Annual Noon-Year’s Confetti Countdown – Pretend City   29 Hubble   Website

Irvine   Dec. 31    OC New Year’s Eve 2024 Persian Party   18800 MacArthur Blvd   Website

Irvine   Dec. 31    Hive and Honey New Year’s Eve 2024    7905 Irvine Center Drive   Website

Irvine   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Tango Celebration at Atomic Ballroom!     17961 Sky Park Cir    Website

Irvine   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Bash | Speed Dating in Orange County    18000 Von Karman Ave   Website

La Habra   Dec. 31    New Year’s Noon – Children’s Museum    301 South Euclid St   Website

Laguna Beach   Jan. 1    New Year’s Day Champagne Brunch | Montage Laguna Beach    30801 S Coast Hwy   Website

Laguna Beach   Dec. 31    SKYLOFT’S ULTIMATE NYE PARTY!   422 S Coast Hwy   Website

Laguna Hills   Dec. 31   Negah Media 2024 New Years Eve Party featuring Farshid Amin, Farzam and DJ    25205 La Paz Rd   Website

Mission Viejo   Dec. 31    Irish New Year    23962 Alicia Pkwy #2   Website

Mission Viejo   Dec. 31    Monkey Puddle – New Year’s Eve at Costello’s! No Cover!   27567 Puerta Real    Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Prix Fixe Menu at VIEW   900 Newport Center Drive   Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Yacht Party  2431 West Coast Hwy    Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Yacht Party – Newport Beach    2901 West Coast Hwy    Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Four-Course Wine Dinner    1221 West Coast Highway   Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Soiree at The Mayor’s Table   3300 Newport Blvd   Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    A New York New Year’s Eve!   3950 Campus Dr   Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Party – Havana Nights    Newport Harbor Elks Lodge #1767, 3456 Via Oporto   Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    Celebrate 2024 in Style at Red O    143 Newport Center Drive    Website

Newport Beach   Dec. 31    Date Night: New Year’s Eve (cooking class)    832 Avocado Avenue   Website

Orange   Dec. 31    Ring in the New Year EARLY at D&B   20 City Blvd West   Website

Orange   Dec. 31   Ring in the New Year at D&B   20 City Blvd West   Website

Santa Ana   Dec. 31    2024 NYE New Year’s Eve Party @ Yost Theater   307 North Spurgeon Street    Website

Santa Ana   Dec. 31    New Year’s Eve Winter Wonderland Party Hosted by Orange County Mining Co 10000 South Crawford Canyon Road   Website

Seal Beach   Dec. 31   New Year’s Eve with Tris ImbodenYacht Stars First Seating   3005 Old Ranch Parkway   Website

Westminster   Dec. 31   Blame It On The Henny Party (Free Before 10:30 pm)   14160 Beach Boulevard    Website
**Please note: At the time of this posting reservations are available – but we cannot guarantee future availability.
***Not responsible for errors & ommissions

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