The big midnight approaches

The partier's guide to New Year's Eve in Houston

Watch the ball drop at Hudson Lounge
Photo by Jack Thompson
Watch 50,000 balloons drop at the Hyatt Regency
Bring the kids to Gloworama
See red at the Red Room bar
Photo by Daniel Ortiz
Grab a spot for Anvil's Bubbles and Bourbon
Photo by Bart Everson

Need something to do for New Year's Eve? After all, Christmas is yesterday's news.

Want to see and be seen on the last night of the year? Well show up at one — any — of the places below to make a fashionable foray into 2011.

The Real Red Room New Year's Eve
Red Room | 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. | $50 pre-salel tickets
Enter the lush red velvet interior of the Red Room for tunes by DJ X Ray and a complimentary midnight champagne toast. Various table packages are available ranging from $500 to $1,500. Individual tickets at the door are $75; call 832-594-4366 for more info or to purchase tickets.

Veuve Clicquot Countdown at Hudson Lounge
Hudson Lounge | 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. | $100
Hit the Rice Village's newest hotspot for a Miami chic celebration complete with confetti cannon, a live-stream of the NYC ball-drop and downtown Houston's fireworks and complimentary passed bites. Sponsored by Ultimate Vodka and Veuve Clicquot. Call 713-523-0020 for more info.

New Year's Eve at Vintage Lounge
Vintage Lounge | 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. | $90 General Admission
Ring in the new year at Vintage Lounge with an open bar until 2 a.m., the Boom Boom Room's DJ InVerse, a champagne toast and a live feed of the NYC ball drop. VIP packages are also available. Tickets and more info is available here.

Bubbles & Bourbon Bash at Anvil Bar & Refuge
Anvil Bar & Refuge | 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. | No reservations necessary
Get there early for seasoned cocktails and delightful concoctions from Anvil's special "Bubbles and Bourbon" menu. Expect jazz music, party hats, a midnight balloon drop and, of course, a toast of either bubbles or bourbon.

Champagne and birthday cake at 13 Celsius
13 Celsius | 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. | $13 or $300 for couch seating for six
Start your celebrating early at 13 Celsius' annual 13|31 bash celebrating both the new year and 13 Celsius' fourth birthday. This bash features two complimentary champagne toasts — at midnight and again at 1 a.m. — plus a slice of happy birthday cake.

The Last Meal at Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen West Gray location
Tony Mandola's | 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. | Open seating
Celebrate great memories and sample the full menu at the last night at Tony Mandola's location on West Gray. The well-loved restranteur is opening a new place on Waugh in March. Live music by the Ken Cluck Band.

New Year's Eve at Hearsay Gastro Lounge
Hearsay | 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. | No reservations necessary
Hit Hearsay downtown and enjoy the regular menu until 10 p.m., followed by appetizers from 12 a.m. to 2 a.m. while a DJ spins. Champagne cocktails and specialty martinis are $8, Champagne is $6 with a toast and party favors at midnight.

New Year's Eve at the Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotel lobby lounge | 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. | $500 for priority seating
A Gloworama theme will permeate the Four Seasons lounge to play off the festivities at Discovery Green with glowing specialty cocktails, entertainment by R&B and pop duo Bubbo & Greg, and antipasti, sushi and bar menus to keep you energized and dancing all night long. Contact Libby Cagle at 713 652 6244 for VIP reservations.

Pease Out: 2011 NYE Party at Groundhall
Groundhall | 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. | $22 to $27
Join Warpaint, Girl in a Coma, Ume and The Tontons, Tax the Wolf, The Handshake and Young Girls to ring in 2011 at Groundhall. The 21-and-up set can take advantage of free drinks from 8 to 10 p.m. and a complimentary meal. Save $5 if you purchase your tickets in advance at TicketFly.

New Year's Eve at The Tasting Room at Uptown Park
The Tasting Room | 8 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. | $40
Enjoy a complimentary first beverage as well as live music, dancing, party favors, great Tasting Room food and a complimentary Pommery Brut Royal Champagne toast at midnight. VIP admission will run you $75 and includes a private reserve room, a Champagne upgrade and an additional carving station.

Free Press' New Year's Eve Cataclysm
Fitzgerald's | 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. | Free for 21-and-up
With the Wild Moccasins, Weird Party, Limb, Golden Axe, B L A C K I E, Hamamatsu Tom, Hex Dispensers, Fat Tony, Delicious Milk and State vs. Judd Nelson. Try to stay alert for giveaways like passes to Free Press SummerFest 2011.

Style, Sophistication, Glitz and Glamour: A New Year's Eve Affair to Remember
Sullivan's Steakhouse | 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. | $20
Come early for dinner ($69 per person) and stay late for Latin jazz music by The Brew at Sullivan's Ringside jazz lounge. Dance the night away and toast to the ball drop at midnight.

New Year's Eve Celebration at the Hyatt Regency Downtown
Hyatt Regency | 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. | $99 General Admission
Four floors, two live bands, one DJ and 50,000 balloons makes for a hell of a New Year's Eve celebration. A general admission ticket also includes four drink tickets, party favors, and music by latin group Yelba, '60s hits by The Fab 5 and DJ 33-1/3 spinning party hits in the lobby. Midnight brings a toast and a balloon drop from the 33-floor atrium.

Gloworama New Year's Eve 2011
Discovery Green | 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. | VIP tickets are $75 and $150
The CultureMap-sponsored Gloworama is a free, family-friendly and funky outdoor bash with live entertainment that includes a parade of illuminated art cars, fireworks and the Big Glow — a 3D light show projected against the George R. Brown. Performers include the Fire Spinners, America's Got Talent's ArcAttack, Runaway Sun and headliner Jesse Dayton. Illuminated costumes are encouraged.

For those who need a kick to their toast, VIP tickets get you access to a pre-party and prime seats to view the parade. The Hilton Americas bar and other surrounding establishments will keep the drinks pouring as long as it's legal.

Editor's note: Don't forget to check out Fayza Elmostehi's earlier New Year's Eve story that includes some eclectic options, including a camping party and a Ars Lyrica classical music concert.

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Texas tragedy

Camp Mystic halts reopening plan after outrage by families, lawmakers

Memorial Service Held For Young Camper Killed In Hill Country Floods

Photo by Ron Jenkins/Getty Images

Pink and green bows signifying a young camper who was lost in the Hill Country floods.

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Camp Mystic on Thursday, April 30 halted reopening plans on the Texas river where floodwaters killed 25 girls and two teenage counselors, backing down in the face of outraged families and investigations that accused the all-girls Christian camp of dangerous safety and operational deficiencies.

The decision, a striking reversal of the camp owners' determination to reopen, follows weeks of testimony in court hearings and legislative investigations. Those hearings laid bare the camp’s lack of detailed planning for a flood emergency, reliance on poorly trained staff, and missed chances for an evacuation that came too late as floodwaters ripped through the camp over the July 4 weekend last year.

“We never imagined a world without our daughters, and no decision made now can change that," Matthew Childress, father of 18-year-old counselor Chloe Childress who died, said in a statement.

The camp’s owner, Dick Eastland, also died in the flooding.

“No administrative process or summer season should move forward while families continue to grieve, while investigations continue and while so many Texans still carry the pain of last July’s tragedy,” Camp Mystic said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed Thursday that the camp has withdrawn its application.

The decision was praised by Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who opposed the camp's reopening while investigations were ongoing.

“I am thankful to hear that, today, the Eastland family withdrew their application,” Patrick said in a statement. “Given the tragic circumstances, this is the correct decision to protect Texas campers and to allow time for all investigations to be completed.”

The families of the victims packed the court and legislative hearings, often wearing “Heaven’s 27” pins with photographs of their daughters. They listened to the details of missed flood warning signs, the descriptions of the flood and the decision to leave the girls in their cabins until it was too late. The testimony included video of the raging floodwaters as a girl repeatedly screamed for “help!” somewhere in the distance.

Edward Eastland, one of the camp directors and a member of the Eastland family that owns and operates the 100-year-old camp on the banks of the Guadalupe River, offered a tearful public apology to the victims’ families on Tuesday.

“We tried our hardest that night. It wasn’t enough to save your daughters,” Eastland said, with the victims' families sitting behind him. “I’m so sorry.”

All told, the destructive flooding killed at least 136 people along a several-mile stretch of the river, raising questions about how things went so terribly wrong.

Texas health regulators have said they are investigating hundreds of complaints against the camp's owners. The Texas Rangers are also looking into allegations of neglect, according to the Texas Department of Safety, although the scope of the state’s elite investigations unit was not immediately clear.

The camp, established in 1926, did not evacuate as the storm rolled in and was hit hard when the river rose from 14 feet (4.2 meters) to 29.5 feet (9 meters) within 60 minutes.

summer camp politics texas weather texas flood