Looking for low-key alternatives to celebrate the dawn of 2017 in the Bay Area? Check out our shortlist of local events happening this New Year’s Eve weekend.
Tonight, Oakland’s art deco movie palace, The Paramount Theatre, celebrates its 85th birthday with a screening of The Wizard of Oz. They’ll open doors early at 6:30 p.m. for theater tours and access to the historic landmark’s collection of archive materials. The Wurlitzer organ begins at 7:30 p.m., and the film will start at 8:30 p.m. Find ticket information at paramountheatre.com, or purchase them as you walk in the theater’s marquee entrance at 2025 Broadway.
Tomorrow, there will be plenty of New Year’s Eve celebrations at bars and clubs across the Bay Area, but the Pacific Pinball Museum in Alameda offers an alternative celebration. They’ll stay open past midnight so you can ring in the new year with bells and chimes, rather than with crowds. They’ll also have beverages available (of the alcoholic and non-alcoholic varieties) and, of course, over a hundred pinball machines from the 1950’s to now. The details are all at pacificpinball.org.
Starting this Sunday, Berkeley’s infamous punk venue 924 Gilman will host a mini-fest of reunion shows celebrating what would have been the 30th anniversary of the local, indie music label Lookout Records. Doors on Sunday open at 5:00pm, and the line-up includes Tilt, The Sewer Trout Experience, The Criminals, Kamala & The Karnivores, and Black Cat Music. You can see the full lineup of former Lookout bands, and when they’re playing, at 924gilman.org.
Is there an event happening this weekend that you'd like folks to know about? Feel free to add it below in the comments section.