If your world has been anything like my world this last month, you just woke up yesterday and realized that you’ve got to get a plan in place for tonight. Don’t ask me how we ended up on the last day of the year already.
Fortunately, there are quite a few party options still available with either live music or DJ at these NYE mainstays (it’s good to see newcomer The Drake in the mix!):
Marine Room – The Funkee Hippeez
Skyloft – DJ Bobitto
The Drake – The Ruby Lewis Cabaret
Mozambique – my all-time favorite performer Francois Dean is in the DBN Lounge while Slapbak takes the main stage
Driftwood’s Annual Bash Gains New Elbow Room at Seven-Degrees
This year, though, Driftwood Kitchen’s crew might be the winning NYE ticket because they did the smartest thing imaginable: they moved their already-successful, sell-out NYE party from the restaurant to the much larger venue, Seven-Degrees in the Canyon.
For the last three years, Driftwood business partners John Nye and Chef Reiner Schwarz have worked with Promoter Tony Cox to provide a stellar New Year’s Eve party in the combined space of Driftwood Kitchen and The Deck.
“It was always a great party, but we always had the same problem – we would sell out before the party started and we would have to turn people away at the door,” says Promoter Cox. “And that’s a miserable thing to do, especially when you know a lot of these people are Laguna locals and friends.
“Moving to Seven-Degrees gives us almost twice the capacity,” adds Cox. “We can throw a party for as many as 300 people, and I don’t have to turn anyone away at the door. It’s perfect!”
Adds Nye, “The space we have at Seven-Degrees is such a relief to us. Now, we don’t have to feel like we have to rush people through dinner to make room for the dance floor. We have food all night provided by our own Driftwood and Deck chefs. We have live entertainment all night. It’s the best of both worlds.”
A Trifecta for New Year’s Eve: Common Sense, DJ Flex and Addie Hamilton
The all-inclusive ticket (currently $159 per person, but price has begun to inch up) includes food service all evening, an open beer/wine/champagne bar from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m., early entertainment with DJ Flex and, then, Laguna’s favorite boys, Common Sense, taking the stage at about 10:00 p.m.
Champagne for the required toast at midnight will also be available at each of the bars as midnight nears. And, popular Laguna artist Robin Hiers will be painting on-the-spot portraits of party goers which, as far as I’m concerned, is worth the price of admission alone.
Addie will be crooning in a special VIP concert at the same NYE Bash hosted by Driftwood Kitchen.
Purchasers of the VIP ticket (a few tickets remain at $219 per person) receive all of the above plus a VIP Lounge of their own and a special private concert performance by the uber-talented Addie Hamilton.
Tickets for both tiers of pricing are still available (and less expensive when you purchase online now). Click here to lock it in.
The best-selling author and blogger on The Best of Laguna Beach™, Diane Armitage is on an endless quest for the most imaginative adventures in Laguna’s restaurants, events and lifestyle. Check out chef interviews, retail and restaurant news, and favorite events at www.TheBestofLagunaBeach.com and follow on Instagram @BestOfLagunaBeach (look for Diane’s smiling face).