An overnight stay in another part of the state might be the perfect thing to shake loose the sheer terror of 2016 and ring in a shiny, happy new year. Oklahoma offers a wide range of champagne-based options for the final hours of Dec. 31. Just make reservations for an overnight stay — there’s nothing fun about highway driving in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
Cheers!: Giant cocktail enthusiasts and those who like to roar like the 1920s on New Year’s Eve should pile into the Studebaker and make the trip to Bartlesville, where Price Tower Arts Center hosts its annual Olive Drop celebration. Price Tower gallery, 510 S. Dewey Ave., in Bartlesville will be done up like a 1929 speakeasy perfect for the fringe-skirted flapper in your life. The showstopper happens when the giant olive is lowered down Price Tower into an enormous martini glass. Drink responsibly. Visit pricetower.org.
Dirty Wonder: West Texas-bred alt-country singer-songwriter K Phillips lives stylistically in that middle ground between Keith Richards’ rootsier blues leanings and the hyper-intelligent storytelling of Hill Country bards Lyle Lovett and Robert Earl Keen. Phillips performs songs from his forthcoming second album Dirty Wonder 10 p.m. Dec. 31 at Mercury Lounge, 1747 S. Boston Ave., in Tulsa. He might ring in the new year with a performance of his superb new single, “Hadrian,” featuring Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. Visit mercurylounge918.com.
Giggle water fantasies: In Oklahoma, prohibition was not just a 1920s phenomenon — the Sooner State continued the traditions of legally enforced temperance, bootlegging, bathtub gin and denatured alcohol poisoning until 1959. Even so, plenty of people still want to party like Jay Gatsby in the Jazz Age. New Year’s Eve is a perfect time to party old Hollywood glam Prohibition style 8 p.m.-2 a.m. Dec. 31 at The Wine Loft, 7890 E. 106th Place South, in Tulsa. Tickets are $45-$170 and include party favors, champagne, signature cocktails, cigars on the patio and live music from Southern Shine. The Wine Loft is encouraging period Prohibition-era clothing — that’s 1920s, not 1950s. Visit thewinelofttulsa.com.
Soul Man: Having joined the Blues Brothers as a legacy, Jim Belushi knows his way around the bar band staples of classic R&B, plus he starred in 182 episodes of ABC’s According to Jim in eight years, yet few people believe it. Buffalo Run Casino & Resort hosts Belushi and his Sacred Hearts Band 9:30 p.m. Dec. 31 at 1000 Buffalo Run Blvd. in Miami. For $50, revelers enjoy hors d’oeurves, a midnight champagne toast, a balloon drop, party favors and proximity to the star of K9. Visit buffaloruncasino.com.
Peaceful, easy feeling: With the death of Glenn Frey earlier this year, Don Henley became the true standard-bearer for The Eagles’ legacy. Three months ago, Henley hinted that the venerated country-rock group could reunite if Frey’s 22-year-old son, Deacon Frey, joined them to fill his father’s shoes. Until that happens, Henley’s concert 8 p.m. Dec. 31 at WinStar World Casino and Resort, 777 Casino Ave., in Thackerville is the closest an Eagles fan can get to that peaceful, easy feeling. Tickets are sold out, so start harassing Facebook friends into selling theirs. If that doesn’t work out, singer Aubree-Anna performs selections from the Great American Songbook in the Rotunda Bar from 9 p.m. until 2017. Visit winstarworldcasino.com.
Race into the New Year 5K: Not only is New Year’s Eve the last day of the year, it’s usually the culmination of wretched holiday excess, that night when eating and drinking like a Roman emperor is given a pass because you’ll turn it all around Jan. 1, right? Well, why wait? The Race into the New Year 5K, starting at 21st Street and S. Jackson Avenue at Tulsa’s River West Festival Park, is a healthy, active alternative to the “blerghing in the bushes” tradition. This 5K event includes a chip-timed 5K, a one-mile fun run, fireworks, champagne and beer along the route, music and a black-eyed peas and cornbread meal at the finishline. The fun run is $15 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under, and the 5K is $30 for adults and $15 for 12-and-under runners. Visit runnersworldtulsa.com.
Print headline: Roll out, Head out of town for a new view as you ring in the new year.
