Happy New Year, Cleveland: 15 Ways to Ring in 2025!

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Good morning, Cleveland! 🎉 The Countdown to 2025 is ON! Get ready to party at the Flats East Bank with live DJs, craft drinks, and stunning riverfront fireworks to light up your night. Let’s ring in the New Year in style! 💃🍾🎇.

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In today’s 216 Scoop Edition: 

• 15 parties to ring in 2025

• The Buckeyes are back from the dead, ready for roses

• Wild Winter Lights will glow on

• Ohio minimum wage to increase in 2025

• Trump seeks deal to avoid a ban of TikTok in U.S.

  
  
  by John Petkovic, Mark Espinosa, Victor Takakura

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IN THE NEWS

The Roaring Twenties are speeding toward middle-age! 

Whoa, time flies. Twenty-four has been a blur and the Roaring Twenties are speeding toward middle-age. No need to fret: We have located 15 NYE parties amid the hundreds of events out there. (So no need to mess up your eyes with 86 pages of Eventbrite.)

Some are high-end and require an outfit; others are casual and won’t rip your wallet to shreds. Other reside somewhere in the middle. Here are some fun themes and unique twists.

Check ‘em out in The 216 Digest just down below. Oh, and Happy New Year…

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Buckeyes back from the dead, ready for roses

Three weeks after one of the worst losses in recent memory – a 13-10 loss to Michigan -- the Buckeyes are back. And so are the fans.

Ohio State’s Dec. 21 trouncing of Tennessee, 42-17, advanced the team past the first round of the College Football Playoff.

At 5 p.m. Wednesday, Ohio State will take on Oregon State in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes lost to the Ducks, 32-31, in October.

The Ohio State Alumni Club of Greater Cleveland will gather at 4:30 p.m. at Buffalo Wild Wings, 8465 Strongsville.

Wild Winter Lights to glow on

The lights are staying on a little longer. Wild Winter Lights at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo has been extending four more days, Jan 2 through Jan. 5. The popular holiday attraction features more than 1.5 million lights, a glowing musical show featuring a 50-foot tree and themed areas including Enchanted Forest, Swan Lake, Candy Lane and Polar Pathway.

A quarter here, a dime there: Ohio minimum wage to increase

The New Year will ring in a new minimum wage for Ohioans. Starting Jan. 1, it’s set to increase to $10.70 from $10.45 per hour for non-tipped employees and $5.35 from $5.25 per hour for tipped employees on Jan. 1, 2025. This increase will apply to employees of businesses with annual gross receipts of more than $394,000.

The 216 Digest

NYE 2025 Guide: 15 parties that ring in the new year with personality

 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-… OK, you know the rest. Let’s party.

Lago 2025 NYE at Hotel Cleveland, 24 Public Square: Lago’s annual NYE parties keep getting bigger. This year’s extravaganza heads to Hotel Cleveland and offers a high-roller Vegas experience, complete with art installations, casino games, a seated dinner, buffets, live music and performers and more. 8 p.m.

Retro Future at Mahall’s, 13200 Madison Avenue, Lakewood: Mahall’s always rolls out unique, fun themes. ‘Retro Future’ features a Y2K theme, dance-like-crazy energy and music from the 1960s through the ‘90s in three different areas.

Irish New Year at Gormley's Pub, 19500 Center Ridge Road, Rocky River: The party starts early with live music at 2 p.m. It features a toast at 7 p.m. (midnight in Ireland) and runs late – so you can ring in the New Year twice, with a happy-go-lucky crowd in a fun pub.

Final Countdown NYE at BIG BANG, 1163 Front Avenue: This soiree waves goodbye to a year and an era for the Flats East Bank. The popular dueling-pianos club, which anchored the entertainment district for a decade, will be closing Jan. 20.The party runs 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.

NYE 2025 at Twist, 11633 Clifton Boulevard, Cleveland: Parties are always lively at this gay dance club and neighborhood bar – so count on NYE to get sweaty. Cleveland club vet Mike Filly will spin. Count on some fun outfits. 9 p.m.

Denim & Diamonds at The Farm, 1054 Old River Road, in the Flats East Bank: Gatsby soirees? Studio 54 glam? ‘Denim and Diamonds’ will probably roll out even more excess – loaded with country kickin’ vibes and woohoo sing-alongs and shots galore.

New Orleans NYE bash at Bourbon Street Barrel Room, 2393 Professor Avenue, Tremont: The BSBR will break out the beads, masks and Big Easy vibes – not to mention drinks, food and live music for an over-the-top celebration of all things New Orleans. 9:30 p.m. to 1 p.m.

House, Club and Techno NYE at Dunlap’s Corner Bar, 3258 West 32^nd Street, Cleveland: The tucked-away up-and-comer bar developed a growing following this year with its themed parties and eclectic shows. How many places are doing House? Club? Techno? Can’t think of any? Well, then, go here. No cover.

NYE at JACK Cleveland Casino, 100 Public Square: You don’t have to go broke on some big cover or rush to be there at a certain time. The Jack is starting early and running late with its Legends and Sleigh bars. The casino will also roll out DJs and themed drinks, as well as a piano player at the Seven Chefs Buffet, which runs 1-9 p.m.

NYE at Beachland Ballroom, 15711 Waterloo Road, Cleveland: Collin Miller & the Brother Nature will play the music of Sly & the Family Stone; Hello! 3D will roll out its Latin rock grooves and Chayla Hope will perform her brand of pop. Cleveland DJ Teddy Eisenberg will spin tunes.

Misery at Midnight: Lake Erie Emo Club NYE at the Winchester, 12112 Madison Avenue, Lakewood. The club was closed for 10 days due to plumbing issues, but is back in action in time for NYE. Hey, no need to get all emotional about it. Oh, wait, of course: the Winchester is hosting an Emo NYE – so feel free to revel in melancholy, and dance and sing along to your fave emo and pop-punk bands. 9 p.m.

Studio 54 NYE Party at Re:Bar, 2130 East Ninth Street, Cleveland: This bash will let you party like it's 1979, Manhattan. Yup, it’s a Studio 54-themed soiree complete with sweaty disco tracks, via DJ Yomi, appetizers and a complimentary toast. 9 p.m.

Noon Year’s Eve Party in Tower City, 230 West Huron, Cleveland: This family-friendly bash features a photo booth, balloon twisters, a sock skating rink, face painting, games and a 4,000-balloon drop. Oh, and a Champagne Mocktail Bar. (No one gets tipsy, woohoo.) It runs 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

A Night of Nines at the Metropolitan, 2017 East Street, Cleveland: It always feels like a night out in the Big City here – just right for NYE. The party rolls out a casino theme adorned with glitz and glam – as in, table and slot games, commemorative photo shoots, the Cleveland Keys Dueling Pianos, DJs, sax man Matt Corey, a ball drop, midnight toast and endless servings of drinks and food, even take-home tacos. 8 p.m.

A Hip-Hop and Electronic Dance Party at the Grog Shop, 2785 Euclid Heights Boulevard, Cleveland Heights: Dance your way in 2025 with a beat-heavy line-up: UnknownPhrazes, Presque View, Cardio and Sullivan. 9 p.m.

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NOTES ON A COCKTAIL NAPKIN!

SPORTS, ENTERTAINMENT, & CULTURE

Trump seeks deal to avoid a ban of TikTok in U.S.

President-elect Trump is asking the Supreme Court to delay a hearing on a potential ban of TikTok.

The court was scheduled to hear a challenge by the social-media app to a U.S. law passed in Congress that would force its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to sell it. If not, the law would require Google and Apple to stop supporting it on their platforms.

The hearing was scheduled Jan. 19, the same day the law would take effect – a day before Trump would officially take office. The incoming administration has told justices that delaying the law until he enters the White House would give Trump time to find a deal that would satisfy national security interests while allowing the app to operate in the U.S.

“President Trump opposes banning TikTok in the United States at this juncture, and seeks the ability to resolve the issues at hand through political means once he takes office,” wrote D. John Sauer, one of Trump’s personal appellate attorneys. 

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WEATHER

Monday

46°F 🌡️ 38°F | 🌧️ | 40% | 💨 SW 15 mph (13 knots)

Tuesday

44°F 🌡️ 36°F | 🌧️❄️ | 60% | 💨 SW 12 mph (10 knots)

Wednesday

35°F 🌡️ 30°F | ❄️ | 50% | 💨 W 10 mph (9 knots)

Live Music in the 216

Monday

Beachland Tavern | Guggy's Rock-n-Roll 101 + Kiss Me Deadly + Others | 7 PM

Tuesday

Brothers Lounge | Alt95 | 8 PM

Beachland Tavern | Collin Miller & The Brother Nature + Hello! 3D + Others | 7 PM

MusicBox | The Dreadnoughts + Winzige Hosen + Captain Tom & The Hooligans | 7 PM

Wednesday

No live performances scheduled.

For tickets and more information visit: livemusicincleveland.com

The 216 Sports Arena

Upcoming Games

Cavaliers
Away vs. Golden State Warriors, 10 p.m., Monday, Dec. 30
Away vs. Los Angeles Lakers, 9 p.m., Tuesday, Dec. 31

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