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New Year’s Eve Fireworks at the Marina

Marina
Marina Harbor with Burton Chace Park, a prime viewing location, on the far side

Good news for many area residents: the annual Marina del Rey New Year’s Eve fireworks show is a go.

After L.A. County canceled this year’s July 4 fireworks show at the Marina due to budget tightening, private interests stepped up to assist with funding to put on the New Year’s Eve display. That’s cause for a double celebration.

The fireworks show gets warmed up at 11:55 p.m., but, given the public parking and traffic challenges during Marina del Rey events, I’d plan to get there quite a bit earlier.

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New Year’s Eve Party Spots On The Cheap

Downtown blog Angelenic has posted a great list of places in L.A. to count down the final minutes of 2008, with people you may or may not know. Let’s face it, sometimes the latter is better. And since we’re in the throes of a Depression, these parties are all on the cheap, and all conveniently located within stumbling distance of a Metro Rail station. 24 hours of designated driver fun.

Check out Angelenic’s 12 Downtown NYE options under $50 here.

Happy New Year!

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How Should L.A. Celebrate NYE?

In New York, they drop a ball. Orange County supposedly has an orange – although last year I found myself at a depressing outdoor “Mardi Gras celebration” with questionable live music, blackjack table raffles, and some guy trying to sell me a posturepedic mattress. That’s what I get for crossing the border.

Anyhoo… I’ve been wondering why Los Angeles doesn’t have one major New Year’s Eve celebration that doesn’t include a warehouse rave or Pink playing a studio backlot. Should we have an outdoor gathering with some type of ball & countdown? Could such an event be held at the new L.A. Live, once touted as “Times Square West?”

Sure, we had some fun with the suits at AEG for the Christmas tree disaster show they called the Lighting of the Angels. But, that doesn’t mean we don’t want this place to succeed. Perhaps it just needs to find its niche. What better use of all those flashy lights and electronic billboards than a West Coast NYE Countdown?

What do you think?

Photo from UB1’s photostream