How to make NYE party locations work for us?

October 31, 2005 6:10 AM

Where and how do we throw the mother of all New Year's Eve bashes ... in Baton Rouge ... on New Year's Eve?

My friends and I just threw an amazing Halloween party on Friday, October 28. It was an unqualified success. I ended up dj'ing, and had a crowd of no less than sixty people dancing on the front patio, with more spilling out into the driveway, yard, and street. When we shut down at 2:30, people were begging us to keep going. With literally hundreds of neighbors streaming in to enjoy the music, and the cheap-as-free booze, and the great company, and you've got the recipe for some delighted monkeys.

It was such a terrific time, we swore that we'd absolutely do it again for New Years Eve. But, our planning hit a snag. Halloween weather was around 50 degrees Fahrenheit. Typically NYE weather around here is about 35 degrees.

So, how/where can we have the party while not freezin' our guests to death? Should we look into VFW and Knights of Columbus halls? Should we buy outdoor heaters - chimineas perhaps? Any ideas or pointers are welcome.

posted by kuperman to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

Invite ColdChef.
posted by Vidiot at 6:38 AM on October 31, 2005

Recently I helped throw a benefit party for 100+. WE decided to rent one of our local halls, a German club. I'd really recommend this once your parties start hitting professional level. Some of the pluses:
-nobody's home was impacted.
-there was lots of parking
-there were no nearby neighbors to upset
-the hall provided a bartender for only $10 an hour. We bought the booze, but didn't have to tend bar. This was great, not least because the hall then assumed all liability for providing alcohol and checking IDs, making it possible for us to forget all about the legal dangers of a big public party.
-the hall was equipped with industrial cleaning stuff like giant brooms, mops, and buckets, making cleanup a breeze.
-because the hall was a funky 1890s stripped-down place, it had tons of atmosphere and a great wooden dance floor. We strung up a lot of light strings and lanterns and got a great effect.
posted by Miko at 7:22 AM on October 31, 2005

There may very well be such a place that Miko describes here in Baton Rouge, but in all the years that I've watched people at my company try to plan Christmas parties, it's been rather impossible to find places that will let you bring your own booze. Most of these places make their money off the liquor sales. For a smaller group (100 or less), perhaps there is such a place, but for spaces that can accomodate several hundred, good luck. Keep in mind that because New Years is on a Saturday night, places may be even more booked than most years.

I've thrown a few winter parties with chimineas, and they do not work so well for heating a crowd. Most of the heat pours out of the one or two openings leaving your partiers to fight for those spots. Look into those gas heaters like the one's they have at Pat O'Brians in the French Quarter. I think those things can keeps a large area quite toasty. Those things might even be rentable.

Since it sounds like you've got cool monkey neighbors, perhaps you could turn it into a block party of sorts and split the costs around. And if that's the case, I'll give you the names of some chill off duty sheriffs deputies that can run security so that the Baton Police will leave you alone. Good luck!
posted by brheavy at 7:59 AM on October 31, 2005

it's been rather impossible to find places that will let you bring your own booze

That's true in most more commercial places around here too, but going with an old-school ethnic brotherhood-type club is what helped us work around this. I don't know Baton Rouge, but aren't there places like the VFW, Odd Fellows, Italian-American club, Franco-American club, etc? In New England, there are quite a few of these halls and they tend to be cheap (probably because they are desperate to keep the lights on). Maybe the scenario is different down by you, I don't know. Also, we had the benefit of having one of the club members in one of the bands that played. We may have gotten a 'friends and family' price. See if you can work your connections at all -- do any of your parents' friends or friends' parents belong to a place with a hall?

brheavy's point that it's a New Year's Saturday probably changes the equation quite a bit, too. It means that anything you rent (tents, heaters, tables, risers) will probably also be more expensive than normal.
posted by Miko at 8:08 AM on October 31, 2005

That was supposed to read "Baton Rouge Police" - whoops.
posted by brheavy at 8:09 AM on October 31, 2005

Well, the chimineas are a nice idea because ... well, they're not expensive like the gas heaters. That's why we thought of them... More info shortly ...

brheavy : out on Ivanhoe (where the party was Friday) the cops weren't really an issue for us - they were fully concentrated on Carlotta.
posted by kuperman at 8:17 AM on October 31, 2005

Carlotta Street - Oh yeah, definitely the armpit of the neighborhood.

I've decided that Chimineas are for rather more intimate gatherings than a slammin' dance party. I had a new year's eve party in BR when it snowed (6 years ago?), and one chiminea could keep about 6 people warm. At some point the rum took over and it didn't really matter though. I've seen some wood burning grill/heater things that have a wire mesh opening all the way around, and they may work better....
posted by brheavy at 8:32 AM on October 31, 2005

Call your local company that rents tents for parties and see if they have the option to rent a tent with heating.
posted by MsMolly at 2:00 PM on October 31, 2005

Ooooh, good idea.
posted by kuperman at 3:34 PM on October 31, 2005