Whether you’re bidding it a fond farewell or kicking it out the door, it’s time to say goodbye to 2023.
Many Springfieldians will ring in 2024 from the comfort of their own homes, though there are plenty of celebrations happening Dec. 31 for those who enjoy a night out on the town. We’re highlighting six options, ranging from live music to standup comedy and video games to a noontime balloon drop for the young ones.
Mardi Gras at the Gillioz
The Historic Gillioz Theatre continues its tradition of year-end bashes with its New Year’s Eve Mardi Gras with The Mixtapes. Doors open at 9 p.m. and the show begins at 10.
The Mixtapes are one of Springfield’s most popular cover bands, playing hits from the ’90s. They’ll provide the music while you dance and sing your way into 2024. Guests are encouraged to break out their masks and beads for the show, which includes prizes for Best Dressed and Best Mask.
General admission tickets on the main level are $30 each. Reserved seats in the balcony are available for $35. You can purchase them on the Gillioz’s website.
Feeling like a high roller? Go for the 21-and-up VIP experience. You’ll get a reserved seat; access to an exclusive VIP Lounge, Mardi Gras Grazing Bar and a private bar with premium alcohol available; a VIP medallion; and a commemorative VIP Mardi Gras gift box.
The VIP experience is sold as tables for groups of two, four or six, and prices range from $150 to $450.
Glow crazy at the Oasis
Catch the debut of Jukebox Hero at the Oasis Hotel & Convention Center’s New Year’s Eve glow party. Jukebox Hero is a cover band that plays country, pop and rock music from the 1980s to the present day.
There are two party packages available, ranging from $50 to $90 per person. Both packages include music from Randall Shreve and Jukebox Hero, a cash bar, a midnight slider bar, glow-in-the-dark party favors, a champagne toast and a glow balloon drop. The $90 package adds a four-course dinner and music from Dallas Jones.
You can also add a VIP experience for an extra $30. That will get you preferred seating for the glow party, appetizers from 6-7 p.m. and a complimentary champagne wall. Don’t want to drive home? Book a room at the Oasis for $149 with your package purchase. It includes a hot breakfast.
Three levels, one big party inside a castle
Pythian Castle is throwing its only three-floor party of the year on New Year’s Eve. Doors open at 7:15 p.m.
Guests will enjoy a mix and mingle in the lobby before heading to the ballroom at 8 p.m. for a two-course meal by Van Gogh’s Eeterie. Give the secret code word and you’ll get access to the basement for a Prohibition-themed escape game. Once you’ve escaped, head to the theater for dessert, a DJ, dancing, aerial art performances and a champagne toast complete with party favors.
Reservations are required for the event, at $60 per person. Visit the Pythian Castle’s website or call (417) 865-1464 to book your spot. A beer and wine cash bar will be available throughout the night.
Have some laughs with Josh Blue
The Blue Room Comedy Club is once again hosting a New Year’s Eve party. This year’s featured guest is Josh Blue, whose bio says he’s perhaps “best known as the comedian who puts the cerebral in Cerebral Palsy.”
Blue centers much of his self-deprecating act around his disability. He’s a winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and starred in “Comedy Central Presents: Josh Blue.” Blue has several one-hour specials, including “Sticky Change” on Showtime and “DELETE” on Hulu and Amazon, in which he explains why you shouldn’t call disabled people “inspirational.”
Game the night away
Video game and pinball lovers can spend the final hours before 2024 at 1984, Springfield’s 1980s arcade and ’80s-themed hangout.
Your $10 admission fee gets you unlimited plays on nearly 80 video games, free party favors, a countdown to the new year and a balloon drop. Bring your quarters to play pinball and claw machines. There will also be pop trivia.
Minecraft, dinosaurs and a balloon drop, all before lunch
Not everyone is cut out for staying up until midnight. (I’m looking at you, parents with young children.) Thank goodness for Noon Year’s Eve at the Discovery Center. It runs from 10 a.m. to noon.
You’ll be able to explore all of the hands-on science museum’s exhibits, including “Build: A Minecraft Adventure” and “Jurassic Discovery Unearthed,” the new animatronic dinosaur gallery. There will also be a countdown to noon, punctuated with a balloon drop. It’s midnight somewhere, after all.
Admission is $10 for children ages 3-15 and $15 for those 16 and older. Discovery Center members and children ages 0-2 are admitted free.
