Best New Year's Eve Parties

Procrastinator's Guide to New Year's Eve in Houston: Best parties and celebrations

It's still not too late to plan your New Year's Eve celebration. From a 50,000-balloon drop to a fireworks spectacular, below are 12 top soirees to ring in the New Year, including festive fetes at three bustling nightlife hot spots, four happening hotel gatherings and five mammoth parties.

Events

Houston First Presents New Year's Eve

Ring in the New Year at the city’s free and family-friendly celebration at venues throughout the Theater District. Highlights include performances by new wave fave, The B-52's (10:35 pm) and indie rock band, The Tontons (9:15 pm), a kids zone at Jones Plaza with balloon artists and dancers, and more. Countdown to 2016 while a fireworks show lights up the downtown sky.

H-Town Countdown

Have a guaranteed good time at this all-inclusive party at Silver Street Studios (9 pm - 2 am). The entertainment lineup boasts flying aerialists, and beats by DJ Tony Styles and DJ Bizonee. What’s more, your ticket, $135 to $215 per person with a special $3,000 VIP package for parties of 10 or more, also includes open bar, breakfast buffet, midnight champagne toast, confetti and a balloon drop.

Sugar Land Town Square

The celebration at Sugar Land Town Square is two-fold, featuring a family-friendly theme (7-9 pm) with a kids’ DJ and fireworks at 9 pm, switching gears to an adult soiree (10 pm-1 am) with a cash bar, DJ and state-of-the-art 3-D fireworks show at midnight. Admission is free.

CityCentre

A DJ will kick the celebratory evening, gratis to the public, at CityCentre Plaza, with rockin' tunes and a pyrotechnics extravaganza set to light up the sky at midnight. In the interim, wine and dine at the development’s lengthy roster of restaurants and bars including Radio Milano and The Capital Grille. Reservations recommended.

Fire and Ice: NYE Concert & Gala

Start off the evening with dinner in the Sarofim Hall Grand Lobby (8 pm) at Hobby Center before the evening turns cool as Vivaldi’s "Winter" (9 pm) sets the stage for Handel’s "Apollo e Dafne," and then red-hot as the Ars Lyrica musical ensemble performs a special concert, dubbed "Fire and Ice" (9:30 pm), and the organization's annual gala extends the festivities until midnight. Tickets range from $22-$59.

Hotel Parties

Hyatt Regency

Houston's largest New Year's Eve celebration, spanning four floors and featuring two live bands, a D.J., party favors, and a 50,000-balloon cascade at midnight, takes place at downtown’s Hyatt Regency Houston (7 pm-1 am). Break out your dancing shoes for music via country-crooner Roger Creager, The Fab 5 and a DJ. Tickets to the 38th annual bash start at $99 per person with an overnight hotel option starting at $299.

Holiday Inn Houston West

Make it an all-nighter at the Holiday Inn Houston West in the Energy Corridor thanks to a special room rate of $20.15. The hotel will host a blowout New Year’s Eve bash ($90 per person; $165 per couple) complete with a concert performance by ECHO orchestra (8 pm), and masquerade party with a DJ, dancing, appetizers, cash bar and complimentary champagne toast.

JW Marriott Houston Downtown

Break out your finest evening attire and head to the JW Marriott Houston Downtown for your ticket to NYE paradise (8 pm-2 am). Three rooms of non-stop party bliss ($30-$60 per person with a VIP price for six guests at $450) will feature a red carpet entrance, casino games and multiple DJs. Toast to the New Year with a complimentary glass of champagne at midnight.

Hotel ZaZa

Live it up at the racy and fun Hotel ZaZa. The posh Museum District hotel, with daring decor and a see-and-be-seen crowd, presents an evening of cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, dancing and midnight revelry ($75 per person). Room and party packages are available starting at $495.

BAR BASHES

Local Pour

A James Bond theme, along with music by DJ Looney and Top 40 dance band, Swagger, make the sexy soiree (9 pm - 2 am) at popular River Oaks-area bar Local Pour a no-brainer. Hurry and book your spot now. Tables are already sold out, with only a limited number of general admissions tickets (starting at $30 per person) left.

The Nightingale Room

Don your red-hued party duds and paint the town red at downtown’s The Nightingale Room. Let your hair down while you groove to the sounds of a DJ and sip stellar drinks. Pause for reflection during a midnight balloon drop and champagne toast, then go back to the dance party. Adding a little red-hot mystery, all guests will receive a complimentary masquerade mask. Reserve a table for a $300 fee, or walk-in.

Boheme

Aside from a fusion bellydancer, the Montrose neighborhood cafe and bar also promises a DJ and discounted wine by the bottle. Set the mood by snagging a table under the stars in the 6,000-sq.-ft. garden. Call ahead for reservations.

Did we miss your favorite New Year's Eve celebration? If so, let us know in the Comments sections below.

A DJ will kick the celebratory evening, gratis to the public, at CityCentre Plaza, with rockin' tunes, with a pyrotechnics extravaganza set to light up the sky at midnight.

Photo courtesy of CityCentre

A DJ will kick the celebratory evening, gratis to the public, at CityCentre Plaza, with rockin' tunes, with a pyrotechnics extravaganza set to light up the sky at midnight.

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texas premiums

These 10 jobs earn the biggest salary premiums in Texas, study says

Photo by MARC RANGEL on Unsplash

Geoscientists earn the biggest premium by working in Texas, whereas editors have the biggest penalty.

A move to Texas helps some careers and hurts others, and a new SmartAsset study has revealed the top professions where the median annual earnings in the Lone Star State exceed the national median. The study also examined the occupations that suffer the biggest penalties for being in Texas.

The report, "When it Pays to Work in Texas — and When It Doesn’t," published in April, analyzed over 700 occupations to determine which have the biggest "Texas premium" — meaning jobs where the price-adjusted median annual pay in Texas most exceeds the national median for the same occupation — and which jobs have the biggest “Texas penalty,” where the statewide median annual pay falls furthest below the national median. Salaries were sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and adjusted for regional price parity.

According to the report's findings, geoscientists have the biggest "Texas premium" and make a $159,903 median annual salary. Texas' salary for geoscientists is 61 percent higher than the national median for the same position (after adjusting for regional price parity).

"Texas’s large petroleum industry helps explain why employers in the state retain so many geoscientists," the report's author wrote. "In fact, the Lone Star State is home to more geoscientists than any other state except California."

There are more than 3,600 geoscientists working in Texas, SmartAsset said.

These are the remaining top 10 occupations with the biggest "Texas premiums" (salaries are price-adjusted):

No. 2 – Commercial pilots: $167,727 median Texas earnings; 37 percent higher than the national median
No. 3 – Sailors: $67,614 median Texas earnings; 36 percent higher than the national median
No. 4 – Aircraft structure assemblers: $83,519 median Texas earnings; 35 percent higher than the national median
No. 5 – Ship captains: $108,905 median Texas earnings; 27 percent higher than the national median
No. 6 – Nursing instructors (postsecondary): $100,484 median Texas earnings; 26 percent higher than the national median
No. 7 – Tax preparers: $63,321 median Texas earnings; 25 percent higher than the national median
No. 8 – Chemists: $104,241 median Texas earnings; 24 percent higher than the national median
No. 9 – Health instructors (postsecondary): $128,680 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national median
No. 10 – Engineering instructors (postsecondary): $129,030 median Texas earnings; 22 percent higher than the national media

Where Texas workers suffer the biggest penalty
SmartAsset said an editor is the Texas profession where workers earn the furthest below the median for the same occupation elsewhere in the U.S. Not to be confused with film and video editors, BLS defines editors as those who "plan, coordinate, revise, or edit written material" and "may review proposals and drafts for possible publication."

The study found editors make a price-adjusted median wage of $29,710, which is 61 percent lower than the national median for the same position, and there are nearly 8,200 editors in Texas.

It's worth noting that the salaries for editors may be skewed by the fact that there are not major publications in rural areas of Texas, and other professions may also have financial deviations for similar reasons.

Several healthcare jobs also appear to have the worst penalties in Texas compared to elsewhere in the country. Home health aides are the second-worst paying professions in the state, making a median wage of $24,161.

"More home health aides work in Texas than in nearly any other state, with only California and New York employing more," the report said. "However, the more than 300,000 Texans in this occupation earn median annual pay that is about 31 percent below the national median, after adjusting for regional price parity.

SmartAsset clarified that pay penalties are not consistent "across the board" for other healthcare occupations in Texas.

"For physical therapy assistants, occupational therapy assistants, and postsecondary nursing instructors, Texas may be an especially strong place to work, with these occupations offering 'Texas premiums' of between 17 percent and 26 percent," the study said.

These are the remaining top 10 occupations where median annual earnings in Texas fall furthest below the national median for the same occupation:

No. 3 – Cardiovascular technicians: $49,382 median Texas earnings; 27 percent lower than the national median
No. 4 – Semiconductor processing technicians: $38,295 median Texas earnings; 25 percent lower than the national median
No. 5 – Tutors: $30,060 median Texas earnings; 25 percent lower than the national median
No. 6 – Control and valve installers: $56,496 median Texas earnings; 24 percent lower than the national median
No. 7 – Mental health social workers: $46,109 median Texas earnings; 23 percent lower than the national median
No. 8 – Clinical psychologists: $74,449 median Texas earnings; 22 percent lower than the national median
No. 9 – Producers/directors: $65,267 median Texas earnings; 22 percent lower than the national median
No. 10 – Interpreters/translators: $46,953 median Texas earnings; 21 percent lower than the national median

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