The choices are many this Wednesday when it comes to ringing in 2015: from fancy dinners to contra dancing to a 1960s costume party, the North Olympic Peninsula offers a vigorous New Year’s Eve agenda.
Here comes a sampling of the fare.
PORT ANGELES
■ At C’est si Bon, the French dinner house just east of town, a lavish repast will fuel patrons for a night of dancing to the Soul Ducks, a rockabilly band starring singer Phyllis Gale, guitarist John Rollston and Corey Crozier on harmonica.
“Some of our favorite tunes are ‘Got My Mojo Workin’ (Muddy Waters), ‘Walking after Midnight’ (Patsy Cline), ‘Rockabilly Blues’ (Johnny Cash) and ‘Stray Cat Strut’ (the Stray Cats),” said Gale.
Tickets, including dinner, are $40 per person in advance at C’est si Bon, 23 Cedar Park Drive, or $50 at the door. Seating is at 6 p.m. with music at 8 p.m., leading to a midnight champagne toast. Transportation to and from the party is available too from All Points Charters & Tours.
For details, phone All Points at 360-460-7131. Tickets are available at C’est si Bon, which can be reached at 360-452-8888. For more about the Soul Ducks, visit the band’s Facebook page or phone 360-457-7025.
■ The Metta Room, 132 E. Front St., hosts the Nasty Habits, the long-eyelashed, high-heeled and burly band, starting at 9 p.m. and carrying on till 2 a.m.
The Seattle-based Nasties specialize in 1970s and ’80s glam rock, and bill themselves as the “girls your mother warned you about.” Tickets to the show are $10 in advance at the Metta Room or $15 at the door.
■ The Elks Naval Lodge hosts a dance, hors d’oeuvres, party favors, a toast at midnight and Three Too Many, the band specializing in the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, the Foo Fighters and the Black Keys among other rock inspirations.
Tickets are $25 per person or $20 per if you come in a group of four or more. Phone 360-457-3355 for reservations or stop by the Elks at 131 E. First St. This is a party for the 21-and-older crowd.
Three Too Many is a quintet of Olympic Medical Center staffers Jeff Anderson and Sharon Thompson — the one her bandmates call “the diva” — with Dr. Mike Maxwell, nurse practitioner Barbara Maxwell and Port Angeles High School principal Jeff Clark.
Why are they playing music on New Year’s Eve instead of going out frolicking?
“This is the most fun we could have,” said Barbara Maxwell.
■ Barhop Brewing will ring in 2015 with a 1960s-’70s costume party, prizes for the best getups and music by Joy in Mudville.
From 8 p.m. till round midnight, the band — Jason Mogi, Kim Trenerry, Paul Stehr-Green and new drummer Mike Echternkamp — will play danceable classics from the Grateful Dead — “Don’t Ease Me In,” “Tennessee Jed,” “U.S. Blues” — as well as vintage Tongue and Groove and Deadwood Revival songs such as “Ain’t the Buyin’ Kind,” “Ginny Aphrodite,” “When I’m Gone” and “Peace, Love and Harmony.” A Mudville rendition of the Beatles’ “Come Together” is a definite, while “some obscure, but super fun, tunes like Keller Williams’ ‘Kidney in a Cooler’” will make it into the set, added Stehr-Green. The cover charge is $5 for the whole night, and the prizes are a $50 bar and pizza tab for best costume and $30 for second place.
SEQUIM
■ A family-friendly, hillbilly hoedown style dance comes along with the Buck Ellard Band at the Sequim Prairie Grange Hall from 6 p.m. till 9 p.m. Grange members will lay out the food and soft drinks, and admission will be $15 per person, $25 per couple or $35 per family while children 11 and younger get in free. For details about this dance at the grange, 290 Macleay Road, phone Valerie at 360-821-9321.
■ A blues revue will take over Wind Rose Cellars, the wine bar at 143 W. Washington St., from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. There’s no cover charge to drink in the music with guitarists Rufus Perry and Bill Volmut, drummer Mark Volmut and bassman Taylor Ackley.
■ At the Oasis Bar and Grill, two bands are coming for New Year’s Eve: the Old Sidekicks will play country and bluegrass from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; then Black Rock will play, well, rock from 9 p.m. until after midnight. There’s no cover charge at the Oasis, 301 E. Washington St. in Sequim’s Creamery Square, while more information can be had at 360-582-3143.
■ The Port Angeles Eagles Lodge invites everyone to its dinner and dance with the Jimmy Hoffman Band. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. for a prime rib and buffet dinner at 7:30 p.m.
Then comes dancing to the band’s country and rock and a champagne toast to ring in 2015. Advance tickets are $45 per couple or $25 for singles at the Eagles, 2843 E. Myrtle St. At the door on Wednesday night, that rises to $50 for couples and $30 for singles. For details, phone 360-486-4926.
■ Bar N9ne, 229 W. First St., will offer everyone a chance to sing during its New Year’s Eve karaoke party.
Revelers are urged to come dressed up as their favorite rock, country, reggae or hip-hop artists.
PORT TOWNSEND
■ First Night, the family-friendly convergence of live music, line dancing, storytelling, games and many other activities, happens from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in and around the historic City Hall. Dramatic readings at the nearby Key City Playhouse, DJ Mollywog at the Boiler Room, a pair of folk singers known as The Twins, short film screenings and square- and contra-dancing are all part of the festivities in this alcohol-free party.
At 9 p.m., the crescendo comes with Dr. David Chuljian’s fireworks display over Memorial Field, 550 Washington St., and the raising of sculptor Thaddeus Jurczynski’s big, lighted anchor.
Admission is by optional donation, with passes available for a suggested $5 per person or $10 per family. To obtain a pass before the rush starts, stop in at the Jefferson Museum of Art & History at City Hall, 540 Water St.
All pass holders receive a raffle ticket for $100 in gift certificates from the Museum Shop. For details, phone 360-385-1003.
■ Sirens Pub will host a ring-in-2015 party with two bands: the Shivering Denizens, the opening act, and then The Better Half, those suppliers of rock, R & B and other danceable stuff.
Festivities get going at 8:30 p.m. with a second bar, aka the “speakeasy lounge,” a photo booth, door prizes and a champagne toast come midnight. Cover charge is $10 at the pub, 823 Water St.
■ The Cellar Door is bringing the Crow Quil Night Owls and DJ Coarse in for a dance party from 9 p.m. on till midnight. The cover charge at the club, 940 Water St., will be $5. For information, phone the venue at 360-385-6959.
■ The Quimper Grange New Year’s Eve Fundraiser Dance, an event open to all ages and dance experience levels, hosts a pair of local bands: Susannah Gals and Airstream Traveler. They’re rolling in for square dancing, contras, reels, circles, mixers and more, all with dance caller Dave Thielk. The family-oriented, alcohol-free party will start at 8 p.m. with Susannah Gals’ two-hour set; then Airstream Traveler will carry on from 10 p.m. till around midnight.
No dance expertise is necessary since all of the steps are taught, and singles, couples and groups are welcome. Admission is a suggested $10 donation, but no one will be turned away.
Holiday snacks and soft drinks will be laid out, while dancers can bring additional treats to share.
“Drop in and make a donation, or stay and dance into the new year,” said Thielk, who added that the contributions help keep up the grange hall at 1219 Corona St. in good shape. For more information, phone 360-385-3308.
■ Jim Nyby and the F Street Band are coming back to be the featured attraction at a New Year’s Eve dance party at Manresa Castle 651 Cleveland St. The ensemble plays a mix of New Orleans rhythm and blues and 1950s soul music with an emphasis on dance numbers. Along with singer and pianist Jim Nyby, F Street’s three-piece horn section and full rhythm section will step up at 8:30 p.m. and play on till 12:30 a.m. Advance tickets are $15 at Crossroads Music, 2100 Lawrence St., Port Townsend; remaining tickets will be sold for the same price at the door Wednesday night.
■ Three bands will bring on 2015 at the American Legion Hall: The High Council, the Dirty Beat Duo and the Naughty Blokes will play a 21-and-older bash starting at 7:30 p.m. Doors of the hall will open at 5:30 p.m. for food, drink and mingling, and then come the Blokes’ British-style rock ‘n’ roll, the Dirty Beat’s percussive electronica and the High Council’s roots, rock and reggae. Admission is $20 at the door of the American Legion, 209 Monroe St.
■ DJ Captain Peacock will bring the beats to the Pourhouse, 2231 Washington St., from 10 p.m. on past midnight. Admission is free while Peacock’s motto is “party like it’s 2015.”
