Downtown Long Beach will ring in the new year with a celebration unlike anything Southern California has seen before, drawing estimated crowds of 50,000 for festivities throughout the urban waterfront area.
Beginning at 6PM on New Year’s Eve, the Red Bull New Year: No Limits event will take center stage along the picturesque waterfront, where famed stuntman, Travis Pastrana, will add another jaw-dropping feat to his already impressive resume. Thousands of fans and party-goers will watch as Pastrana attempts to set a new world record, jumping a car off the Pine Avenue Pier, flying 250 feet over the water and landing on a barge floating in Rainbow Harbor with the legendary Queen Mary as a backdrop.
The daredevil stunt, set to take place at 9PM (PST) will be part of ESPN TV’s live East Coast New Year’s Eve show – historically one of the most watched television productions of the night, second only to Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve. Following the jump, festivities will continue along the waterfront with music, dancing and a flurry of exciting events leading up to Midnight.
Pine Avenue (at Pine & Broadway), the heart of Downtown’s dining and entertainment district, will host a party of its own beginning at 7PM with a 60’s, 70’s and 80’s flare. Patrons will enjoy live performances by world-renowned Beatles cover band, American English, the Disco Kings and Knyght Ryder while strolling around one of Southern California’s Top Ten Restaurant Rows (as named by ABC7 TV).
A few blocks away, in the eclectic East Village Arts District (at 1st & Elm), a third celebration will take place with an all-ages bash that will include live performances by local independent artists, Avi Buffalo, Royal Sons and Dusty Rhodes & the River Band beginning at 8PM. Audiences at both the Pine Avenue and East Village celebrations will be treated to a live feed of the activities at the waterfront via large screen projections on each stage as well as replays of the record-breaking jump throughout the night.
At midnight, all of Downtown Long Beach will ring in 2010 with a dynamic light show courtesy of Downtown’s state-of-the-art L.E.D. light system as well as a fireworks show that will light up the sky.
"Downtown Long Beach has always been a great place to celebrate New Year’s Eve," said Kraig Kojian, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Downtown Long Beach Associates. "This year’s events will set a new standard, drawing a much larger audience and will allow us to showcase the many incredible assets our great City has to offer."
Reserved parking and restaurant reservations can be secured via the DLBA website at downtownlongbeach.org. Additional information about New Year’s Eve in Downtown, as well as parking, transportation and street closure details are also available. All events are free and open to the public.
For more information about the DLBA, please call (562) 436-4259 or log on to www.downtownlongbeach.org.Â
