Downtown Indy revs up for New Year’s Eve celebration
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Hoosiers will once again race to Georgia Street to welcome a new year.
Downtown Indy is ready for its 2nd annual New Year’s Eve Celebration. About 30,000 people are expected to watch as an IndyCar is hoisted high above the crowd and dropped as a way to say hello to 2016.
A fireworks display will follow when the clock strikes midnight. Once the car has been dropped Patti McCart of Indianapolis, an online contest winner, will get to take the IndyCar for a spin around downtown to usher in the 100th Running of the famed Indianapolis 500.
Last year was the first time Downtown Indy held a New Year’s Eve party. A crowd of about 2,000 people were expected. About 25,000 people arrived.
“Numbers was a big deal as well as the number of bars so it became very crazy outside the number of people and wanting more drinks so we’ve added additional tents as well as those pop-up carts where people can just grab a beer real quick outside or head inside and warm up,” Amanda Dorman, spokeswoman for Downtown Indy, said.
This year’s free event starts at 8 p.m. and there will be live entertainment. Here is a list of the performers and the time for their performance:
- 8 p.m. – Dave and Whitney
- 9 p.m. – Izzy and the Rubbaband
- 9:30 p.m. – Corey Cox (inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse)
- 10:30 p.m. – Kap Slap
Hoosiers are encouraged to spend the entire evening in the downtown area by watching as the Indiana Pacers take on the Milwaukee Bucks at 7 p.m. and then head to the celebration on Georgia Street.