New Year's Fireworks, Celebrations in Tampa Bay

TAMPA, FL — Tampa Bay area residents hoping to ring in the New Year with fireworks and festivities will find no shortage of places to go.

Here are just a few of the events set to take place Thursday, Dec. 31, to welcome in 2016:

• Light Up Tampa Bay – This free event takes place at Channelside Bay Plaza, 615 Channelside Drive, in Tampa. The party gets started at 8 p.m. Thursday and is capped off with fireworks at midnight. To find out more, visit the plaza’s website.
• Busch Gardens New Year’s Eve – The theme park is pulling out all the stops to ring in the New Year. The park is staying open until 1 a.m. Jan. 1, 2016, and the evening’s festivities include live music, a park-wide countdown to the New Year and a fireworks show. Visit Busch Gardens online to find out more.
• Light It Up Clearwater – Head down to Clearwater Beach for a countdown to the New Year and fireworks. To find out more about the celebration, visit Light It Up Clearwater’s website.
• First Night St. Petersburg – The city’s 23rd annual New Year’s Eve celebration kicks off Thursday with live music, art, games and other activities at more than 25 venues in downtown. The event begins at 4 p.m. and continues through until midnight. A kids’ fireworks show is set for 8 p.m. with a grand finale fireworks show at midnight. Visit First Night online to find out more.
• Sarasota Pineapple Drop – This all-day free event begins at 2 p.m. with entertainment for the kids in downtown Sarasota along Main Street and Lemon Avenue. Live music gets under way at 3 p.m. with the pineapple dropping at midnight at the corner of Lemon and Main. To find out more, visit the event’s website.
• Rooftop Eve Midnight in the Garden – This upscale event takes place on the 10th floor of the Fort Brooke parking garage in downtown Tampa at 107 N. Franklin St. Advanced tickets are $175 for the event, which benefits the DeBartolo Family Foundation. To learn more, visit the event’s website.
• Noon Year’s Eve – This annual event at Tampa’s Lowry Park Zoo is designed especially for the kids. A giant countdown clock lets youngsters ring in the New Year a bit early. The cost is the price of admission to the zoo. Hats and noisemakers and a juice toast are included. The fun starts at 10 a.m. and runs until 1:30 p.m. Thursday. For more details, visit the zoo online.

This is just a sampling of events around the Bay area for New Year’s Eve. If you know of others, add them to the list by commenting below!

Patch file photo