First Class
SARDINE DROP. Forget Times Square’s 1,200-
pound, LED-lit Waterford crystal ball. The people
of Eastport, Maine, really know how to party—
they drop a 22-foot sardine. Why a sardine? It’s
a symbol of the town’s past. Canneries used
to be a booming industry in the U.S.’s easternmost city. These days, Eastport is known for its
seaside art community and adorable downtown.
If you’re looking for a laid-back new year’s party,
this is the place to be.
PARTICIPATE IN A MARATHON … SORT OF.
If you drank just a little too much on New Year’s
Eve, no problem. Run it o with the Long Island
Road Runners at their annual New Year’s Day
5-Mile Hangover Fun Run. For registration
information, call 516-569-4959. If running
isn’t your thing or you had more to drink than
you thought you did, check out the Poetry
Project’s annual marathon reading in NYC
(212-674-0910). Not into running or reading?
Stay home and catch one of the many “
marathons” cable TV is sure to be running.
TOAST OF THE It’s the same every year. You get all decked out in a rented tux and
stupid “200X” glasses (what are they going to do when it hits 2010
TOWN: UNIQUE anyway?), you go to an overpriced party with the same people you just
saw a couple of weeks ago at Christmas open houses, and you kiss
WAYS TO RING IN some stranger at midnight. Blah, blah, blah. Will the torture never end?
THE NEW YEAR This year, just say no to too-loud music, crazy crowds and junk on your
shoes and check out one of these alternative ways to ring in 2009.
TAKE A PLUNGE. For something a bit more
exhilarating, join the Coney Island Polar Bear
Club for its annual New Year’s Day Swim in
the Atlantic. They do it every Sunday, October
through April. However, this one raises money
for a good cause, most recently Camp Sunshine.
Not thrilling enough for you? You could join the
thousands of Americans who really take the
plunge on New Year’s Day by getting married.
That cold water isn’t looking so scary now, is it?
