TAMPA, Fla. — As the Tampa Bay area prepares to ring in the New Year, dozens of celebrations are planned across the region, from beachfront fireworks to downtown parties and cold temperatures aren\u2019t expected to slow things down.<\/p>\n
From Tampa to St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Plant City and beyond, residents won\u2019t have to travel far to find a New Year\u2019s Eve event to enjoy.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
As the Tampa Bay area prepares to ring in the New Year, dozens of celebrations are planned across the region
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One of the largest celebrations will take place in\u00a0downtown St. Petersburg, where the city and the St. Pete Pier are hosting the area\u2019s biggest fireworks show
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City officials in Tampa and St. Petersburg are encouraging people attending larger events to\u00a0dress warmly, as temperatures are expected to be chilly<\/p>\n
One of the largest celebrations will take place in\u00a0downtown St. Petersburg, where the city and the St. Pete Pier are hosting the area\u2019s biggest fireworks show.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The event begins at\u00a08 p.m.\u00a0with live music and entertainment leading up to the midnight fireworks display.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0Clearwater, Amplify Clearwater and its sponsors will launch a fireworks show from\u00a0Sand Key Park\u00a0at midnight. While the park itself will be closed to visitors, organizers say the best viewing spot will be from the southernmost part of Clearwater Beach.<\/p>\n
In\u00a0downtown Tampa, the Friends of the Riverwalk and Jackson\u2019s Bistro are preparing to welcome thousands of people for a midnight fireworks show over the Hillsborough River. Guests can purchase tickets to Jackson\u2019s New Year\u2019s Eve party, which includes food, drinks, DJs, and balloon drops, or choose to watch the fireworks from select outdoor viewing areas along the Riverwalk.<\/p>\n
Marybeth Williams with Friends of the Riverwalk shared tips on where to watch:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sail, the Convention Center area \u2014 that\u2019ll be a great viewing area \u2014 the Harbor Island Bridge. I do believe there are still some VIP tickets available at Jackson\u2019s, so if you don\u2019t have plans, there is food and beverage, balloon drops and DJs.\u201d<\/p>\n
A portion of the proceeds from Jackson\u2019s event will benefit\u00a0Friends of the Riverwalk, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting and expanding Tampa\u2019s Riverwalk.<\/p>\n
City officials in Tampa and St. Petersburg are encouraging people attending larger events to\u00a0dress warmly, as temperatures are expected to be chilly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They also recommend using\u00a0public transportation\u00a0when possible to avoid traffic and parking challenges.<\/p>\n
For those who plan to drive, officials advise arriving early and planning parking ahead of time, as garages are expected to fill up quickly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TAMPA, Fla. — As the Tampa Bay area prepares to ring in the New Year, dozens of celebrations…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":101071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[274,276,2635,115,596,202,204,203,199,201,200,135,278],"class_list":["post-101070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-app-top-stories","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-jason-lanning","tag-news","tag-pinellas-county","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa","tag-top-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=101070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/101070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=101070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=101070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=101070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}