New Years Eve Party Downtown Utica

[Deleted]

First annual put on by Bank of Utica and City of Utica.





Schedule of Events

6:45 - 7:00 Gates Open - Host Welcome

7:00 - 7:30 Swearing-in Ceremony of Local Elected Officials

7:30 - 8:00 Ladies of Soul

8:00 - 8:15 Host Commentary

Ritmo Caribeño – the youth cultural dance group of the Mohawk Valley Latino Association

8:15 - 8:45 Ladies of Soul

8:45 - 9:00 Host Commentary / Year in Review

Ryan Bliss Magic

9:00 - 9:30 The Dovetones

9:30 - 9:45 Host Commentary

Don – a cultural dance group from the Midtown Utica Community Center

9:45 - 10:15 The Dovetones

10:15 -10:30 Host Commentary / Year in Review

UTCA Comedian

10:30 - 11:00 Classified

11:00 - 11:15 Host Commentary

Appearance by the Utica Comets and UCFC

Spoken Word Artist

11:15 - 11:50 Classified

11:50 - midnight Host Commentary

Countdown and fireworks

12:00 - 12:30 Classified with Lillie Ruth





Event Parking

Washington Street Parking Garage Washington St.

Kennedy Plaza Parking Garage Broadway

Court St. Public Parking Lot beside the Bosnian Islamic Association of Utica Mosque

Union St. Public Parking Lots





Food & Drink Specials



MŌTUS

NYE Feature Drink:

House made drinking chocolate. $6 Choose which preparation you'd like:

- Cimarron tequila, cinnamon

- Grist & saw empire rye, house made caramel

- Jameson, nutmeg

- bespoke bourbon cream, house made crème de menthe

- whipped cream, caramel

NYE Featured Street Food:

House Made Chili, house made cornbread crouton, crème fraiche $6

Chicken & Biscuits, house made biscuit, farm carrot, pea, patterson onion, celery, chive $8

*While supplies last. Indoor seating will be for reservations only



DELTA HOTELS BY MARRIOTT UTICA

NYE Feature Drinks:

Godiva Milk Chocolate and Peppermint Coffee

Adirondack Home Sweet Home Spiced Whiskey Wine

NYE Featured Food:

Braised Short Rib

Roasted Cherry Pepper and Bacon Mac and Cheese

Plus...enjoy complimentary hors d'oeuvres with a late night happy hour from 12-2 in the Shade Bar and Grill!



UTICA COFFEE

NYE Features Specials:

Regular, decaf and flavored coffee will be offered for $2 a cup—half of every purchase will be donated to a local charity

Chance to win a coffee basket with each purchase



BELLA REGINA

NYE Feature Drinks:

2 for 1 Wine Slushies, Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's

$2 cans

Karaoke/Dance Party with DeeJay Serena



GRIFFINS PUB

NYE Feature Drink

Naughty but Nice Irish Coffee made with Jameson Whiskey & Baileys Irish Cream

Food: Full menu available until 10PM – Apps available from 10PM until 1AM



UTICA BOWLS

Warm up in a cozy lounge while you enjoy Smoothie Bowls with fresh fruit - including wine smoothie bowls, soup and Almond Joy and S'mores hot chocolate!



IRWIN'S FINE FOODS

Stop in and enjoy some mushroom stew and macaroni and cheese to warm you up!



PIZZA CLASSIC

Serving the Utica area for 30 years, warm up with a classic slice of pizza from Pizza Classic, or anything else on their menu. Open New Year's Eve from 11 AM – 12:30 AM.





Security Information

• Weapons and fireworks are forbidden at the Bank of Utica New Year's Eve venue.

• Alcoholic beverages, non-alcoholic beverages, and food will be offered for sale within the Bank of Utica New Year's Eve venue. With that being said, the following provisions have been set:

o Attendees who wish to purchase and/or possess alcoholic beverages within the venue must be able to brandish acceptable picture identification upon request as well as a designated wristband displayed at all times.

o Open air possession of alcoholic beverages will be permitted throughout the event's footprint only if contained within plastic cups.

o Alcoholic beverages of any kind that are purchased outside of the venue will not be permitted to be brought into the event's footprint.

o Attendees will not be allowed to carry open alcoholic beverages out of the event's footprint.

• Please refrain from bringing bags, backpacks, coolers, packages, or parcels of any kind to the Bank of Utica New Year's Eve venue.

o All baggage is subject to search by a law enforcement officer or a designated safety and security official who will tag and deem it safe to enter the venue. If individuals do not wish to have their baggage searched, they will respectfully be denied entry.

• Due to federal regulations which govern their operation in the area of gatherings, drones and unmanned aircraft are forbidden to operate at the Bank of Utica New Year's Eve venue.

• There will be a strong canine presence at the Bank of Utica New Year's Eve venue therefore please do not bring domestic animals to the venue.

• Finally, we ask everyone to be alert and aware of your surroundings. "If you see something, say something", call 9-1-1 or alert law enforcement at the venue for any emergencies.

www.bankofutica.com/community/newyears.php

TUE

DEC 31

Rain/Snow Showers

40°29°

40%

S 8 mph 85% The Weather Channel. 

[Deleted]

Tuesday Night


"Chance Rain And Snow Showers"
Chance Rain And Snow Showers
LOW 29°
A chance of rain and snow showers. Cloudy, with a low around 29. Chance of precipitation is 50%.

[BHU]

I hope it goes well but the thought of being on Genesee St out in the cold on N.Y.'s eve just doesn't appeal to me. And I don't go to bars anymore, too many idiots out there. The other half got a new deep fryer & we'll be chowing down on deep fried finger food, my cholesterol count be damned & taking it easy with a couple glasses of wine & that's it. The days of getting smashed on New Years Eve are over. Lol

[Clipper]

You and me both BHU. Kathy and I will be having wings and snacks at home, and will probably go out to dinner with my sister and brother in-law on New Years day. That has become a regular tradition.

As far as going out to get smashed. I remember when I still drank and New Years Eve started early in the afternoon many times. I used to hang around the Regency Lounge on James St when I was younger. They would get an all night license for New Years Eve and I would be there from mid evening until daylight the next day. We lived on West St at the time, and my wife would be ready to go home after the ball drop. I would walk her home and then go back to finish my mission of being completely plastered. Boy was that ever fun. Get totally loaded, drinking all night long, and then spend the day on New Years so damned hung over that my hair hurt. I look back and just shake my head. So many wasted nights and weekends, along with a ruined marriage, attributed to booze.

It will be wings, shrimp coctails, and party snacks for us, washed down with a coke or sweet tea. We may or may not make it to midnight to see the ball drop. The entertainment and hosting of the ball drop is not what it used to be. I could care less about the rock singers, and such. I miss the days of Dick Clark and Guy Lombardo.

[BHU]

Dec 29, 2019 12:19:38 GMT -5 Clipper said:

You and me both BHU. Kathy and I will be having wings and snacks at home, and will probably go out to dinner with my sister and brother in-law on New Years day. That has become a regular tradition.

As far as going out to get smashed. I remember when I still drank and New Years Eve started early in the afternoon many times. I used to hang around the Regency Lounge on James St when I was younger. They would get an all night license for New Years Eve and I would be there from mid evening until daylight the next day. We lived on West St at the time, and my wife would be ready to go home after the ball drop. I would walk her home and then go back to finish my mission of being completely plastered. Boy was that ever fun. Get totally loaded, drinking all night long, and then spend the day on New Years so damned hung over that my hair hurt. I look back and just shake my head. So many wasted nights and weekends, along with a ruined marriage, attributed to booze.

It will be wings, shrimp coctails, and party snacks for us, washed down with a coke or sweet tea. We may or may not make it to midnight to see the ball drop. The entertainment and hosting of the ball drop is not what it used to be. I could care less about the rock singers, and such. I miss the days of Dick Clark and Guy Lombardo.

Yep, i too spent many a New Years Day on the couch feeling like I was hit by a bus. Nothing like waking up on the couch with your clothes on, either. So much fun. Now, it's just an occasional beer here & there. Those hangovers just don't cut it along with all the rest of the bs if you know what I mean. 

[Deleted]

Dovetones on now a pretty good Jazz group and more people are showing up watch it live here:

www.cnyhomepage.com/

[Clipper]

Did decent weather hold for the party on Genesee St? I wondered what it would be like when I read that they were lowering the speed limit on the interstates and localized squalls were predicted. I can't imagine standing on Genesee St with the icy wind and snow swirling around me and blasting me in the face and visibility so poor that you could not see the stage.

cnycentral.com/news/local/speed-limit-on-thruway-i-81-and-other-roads-lowered-to-45-mph

It is a great precautionary measure to take when a storm front moves through, but I wonder when it is for localized squalls how many people will actually observe the lower speed limit where the roads are bare. It seems that it might be a bit of overkill and unnecessary to slow traffic across the entire state interstate system. People should naturally know to slow down and pull over when there is a squall. A warning should be sufficient for anyone with even a smidgen of common sense.

It is nice that they held such a party with great entertainment for those hearty enough to stand around in winter temperatures for several hours. Probably much of the crowd is that same group that attends Saranac Thursdays but bundled up in winter clothing.

[BHU]

Watching news coverage at 11 it looked like Genesee St. was mobbed. Looks like everyone was having a good time. For the life of me I cant understand why Roefaro did away with AGOST on Genesee St. Everyone had a good time with music, food & all the rest.

[Deleted]

Yes Good Ole Summertime really must be returned. I heard that businesses in that area complained that grease was spilling on the sidewalks.

Yep that squall hit and came through little after 5PM lasting for a few minutes. Since the downtown event didn't start till 7 PM their was no problem with it.

I went down at 11:30 PM and stayed till after the beautiful fireworks and yes the place was mobbed. Fantastic event which I am sure will be around each year on only get better. Can't wait til it is help in Harbor Point!!!!! Hope I am alive to see that.

There is a new coffee place opening up downtown in February sometime located by old Oneida National Bank. Will feature coffees, etc from Italy. Yummy.

Interestingly my sister told me and heard it from a friend who was from Utica but moved to Texas years ago. He opened a Italian specialty grocery store somewhere in Texas and made a killing with it.

[Deleted]

Jan 1, 2020 9:40:46 GMT -5 Clipper said:

Did decent weather hold for the party on Genesee St? I wondered what it would be like when I read that they were lowering the speed limit on the interstates and localized squalls were predicted. I can't imagine standing on Genesee St with the icy wind and snow swirling around me and blasting me in the face and visibility so poor that you could not see the stage.

cnycentral.com/news/local/speed-limit-on-thruway-i-81-and-other-roads-lowered-to-45-mph

It is a great precautionary measure to take when a storm front moves through, but I wonder when it is for localized squalls how many people will actually observe the lower speed limit where the roads are bare. It seems that it might be a bit of overkill and unnecessary to slow traffic across the entire state interstate system. People should naturally know to slow down and pull over when there is a squall. A warning should be sufficient for anyone with even a smidgen of common sense.

It is nice that they held such a party with great entertainment for those hearty enough to stand around in winter temperatures for several hours. Probably much of the crowd is that same group that attends Saranac Thursdays but bundled up in winter clothing.

When it hit some idiot in a red car decided to speed down Bleecker Street! Not sure how far he/she got.

[Clipper]

I hope that the coffee shop featuring Italian coffees is a success. I remember we spoke about Italian coffee not long ago. The little cups of and the eye opening strong brews. I did not care for it myself. I also hope that Utica never loses it rich Italian culture and history. No matter how many other nationalities and ethnic groups of refugees come to the city, it is the Polish, Irish, and Italian communities that built the city as we know it.

Growing up there were very few restaurants that were serving Polish foods, and even fewer that were known for their Irish cuisine. The ITALIAN restaurants have always dominated the restaurant scene in Utica, and the East End was always the place to be for a dinner out, a pizza, or a simple fish fry. The great Italian food is always at the top of our list of what we look forward to when we visit, and is what we truly miss living here in the South.

I was recently reading about the arrival of Italian immigrants in New Orleans La back in the late 1800's and through the 1920's. They settled in a section of what has always been the French Quarter in an area that became known as "little Palermo." Little Palermo no longer exists, as most Italian families have moved to the suburbs and spread across the city. Sicilian influence is still felt around St Joseph's Day when the Sicilian alters are set up all around the city, and the Sicilian-Irish Parade is held.

I am often caught up in a quest to read all I can about a subject, and a short documentary about Italians in the old New Orleans prompted me to read more and learn more about the history of Italian culture in that area. One of the things I came across was an article about a lynching of 11 Sicilians back in the late 1800's.

www.bing.com/search?q=sicilian+lynchings+in+new+orleans&form=PRUSEN&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&msnews=1&refig=9906989ae9d54d4ab21d6e1750538697&sp=1&qs=HS&pq=sicilian+ly&sk=PRES1&sc=7-11&cvid=9906989ae9d54d4ab21d6e1750538697

There was an Italian organized crime family even back in the 1800's. That is one part of Italian history that carried forward well into the 20th century, and probably still exists today. 11 Sicilians were lynched as the result of the Sicilian killing of an Irish police commissioner .

There is quite bit available to be read about the history of Sicilian immigrants and the Italian community in New Orleans. I need to read more about the history of the Italian community there in Utica and Rome and how they fitted into to the settling and building of the CNY area. There are fairly concentrated pockets of Italian families all around the area. Canastota for one example has a fairly large Italian community and presence. History is a subject that can prompt me to get lost in reading for hours and days. A person can never be too well read. I will probably still be reading when I am a tottering old fool with a magnifying glass and a goose neck reading lamp. I can leave the world and it's troubles behind and truly escape and relax when I have something of interest to read.

[Deleted]

Sicilian-Irish Parade is held. That's funny. Many Italians here have also moved to the suburbs and Albany Hill also seems to be a favorite place. Sister and her family have their house there. My grandparents on Mothers side arrived here is 1900. She and her husband were 18 years old and had one baby my Aunt Betty when they arrived. That had to be something leaving so many family and friends behind but many of them also came to Utica. My Grandfathers brother had his head cut off by the mafia in Calabria. My Grandfather found him in a field near their olive farm.