It’s about that time when people, young and old, solidify their New Year’s Eve plans with the answer of one basic question: Stay home or go out? The question gets even more simple when you see what’s happening around the city of Tacoma.

First Night

First Night Tacoma
Flames ring in the new year after a night of songs and dances at First Night Tacoma. Photo courtesy: First Night.

Tacoma’s signature New Year’s Eve event is the ironically named First Night. Now into its 20th year, the family-friendly and alcohol-free celebration of all things arts and music takes over the city’s performance spaces with acts of all sorts and music for all ages. Crowds routinely range from 10,000 to 20,000. Performances take place at a dozen or so venues around downtown, but many also just stroll the street to see street acts. To join in the fun, buy a First Night button for $10.

Must-see performances this year include the annual “world’s shortest parade” to start the festivities and the fire dancers who will light a flaming 2017 to mark the beginning of the New Year. Between those bookend activities, button buyers can see singer songwriters, bands of all sorts and theatrical performances. Oh, and First Night buttons also get you admission to the Museum of Glass, Tacoma Art Museum, Tacoma Children’s Museum and free skate rentals at Franciscan Polar Plaza the day of the event. Day-of-event buttons cost $14, but are cheaper in advance, so purchasing them online, at Columbia Bank locations, local museums and select small businesses is recommended. Children 10 and under are free.

Make Souvenirs

The Museum of Glass will have its “Countdown Coneheads” leading up to the First Night celebration to allow visitors to make their own conehead hat and noisemaker to use throughout the evening, while the nearby Tacoma Children’s Museum will have craft items available for children to make their own musical shakers and dance party.

Model Train Festival

The Washington State History Museum will have its 21st Annual Model Train Festival, when the museum has wall-to-wall history and displays regarding the transportation method that created the City of Destiny as the terminus of the transcontinental railroad. The museum is also home to an impressively large model train on its upper floors.

Zoolights

Zoolights
Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium has animal light displays as well as displays that show some local pride. Photo credit: John Froschauer.

By New Year’s Eve, Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium will be nearing its end for the season, so it’s a question of doing it now or not at all. The zoo is flooded with more than a half million LED lights to display scenes of swimming sharks, soaring eagles and playing cubs as well as local landmarks and “painted trees.” The historic carousel will spin and camels will offer rides throughout the evening. Zoolights is open on December 31, creating a unique New Year’s Eve opportunity.

Fantasy Lights

People interested in seeing lights without the bite of winter chill of the holiday season, might want to give Spanaway Park’s annual Fantasy Lights a look. The display includes more than a million lights spread along a two-mile drive that includes scenes from storybook classics and holiday vignettes to animals and winter scenes through the warmth interior of passing cars.

Polar Bear Plunge

Polar Plunge Tacoma
Polar Plunge kicks off the year with a chill and a thrill. Photo credit: Russ Carmack.

For chill-and-thrill seekers out there, Metropolitan Parks District of Tacoma will again be hosting its Polar Bear Plunge to start 2018 off with a fresh dip into Puget Sound the morning after the NYE festivities in what has become a family tradition for hundreds of people. The free event allows people to simply line the Point Defiance boat launch and then jump into the near-freezing water then run to the warming tents and free cups of hot cocoa or coffee. Changing tents are also provided for people to swap out their swimsuits with warm sweat suits and their awaiting cars.