Welcome to On the Radar: New Year's Eve Edition, where we preview up-and-coming events to mark your calendar for. No need to choose between Channelside and Ybor for fireworks this year: Get the party started at 5:30 p.m. with the Ybor City New Year’s Eve Parade, featuring myriad floats, marching bands and college cheerleading squads, which wraps up with a fireworks display at 8:30 p.m. Then, head to Channelside for Light Up the Bay, where blast-off begins when the ball drops at midnight.
If you’re staying on the other side of the Bay, there’s one mega-magnificent event: First Night 2010. Send 2009 off with a bang at this city-wide bash — a sensory explosion of music, lights, dancing, a bonfire, bubbles, ice-skating, live local music performances, champagne and fireworks at more than two dozen different locations across St. Pete. Highlights of the night-long event include
This article appears in Dec 16-22, 2009.