People throughout Schuylkill County will be celebrating and heralding 2012 in style, and nowhere will the area's unique style be honored more than in the county seat of Pottsville.
There will be parties and music and special deals throughout the business district, culminating at midnight in Garfield Square, where a Yuengling bottle will once again be raised to toast the new year.
A disc jockey will begin playing at 11:30 p.m. for the crowds that will gather in anticipation of the event.
Thomas A. Palamar, Pottsville city administrator, said traditional celebrations will take place all over town prior to, and following, the main event in Garfield Square.
"We've done this every year since about 2004, and it's always been a good time," Palamar said. "We expect a lot of people, and that will be couples and teenagers and families with children, just everybody."
Palamar said Pottsville, and all of Schuylkill County, has been known to celebrate the new year with gusto. The city's eating, drinking and community-gathering establishments will offer their own unique parties and special welcomes.
"We expect that if it is bitter cold, then we won't see people out (in Garfield Square) until 11:45 (p.m.), but that's because they will be at house parties or in one of the local pubs keeping warm," Palamar said. "It will be a local celebration going on everywhere. We have always liked New Year's Eve here in Pottsville."
Tamaqua's 14th annual New Year's Eve event will also feature a large "raising" - this one on the 175-foot-tall ABC high rise, 222 E. Broad St. Eagles will rise up to the top of the building and a Jumbotron will feature a live feed from Times Square. Businesses will be open late to accommodate revelers and to offer special events of their own. DJ Brandon Fritz will spin the latest hits as revelers await the arrival of the new year.
"It's a great event and we are so lucky this year with the weather," said Linda J. Yulanavage, executive director of the Tamaqua Area Chamber of Commerce. "It is a fun, family event as well."
Because of the large crowd expected in Tamaqua, motorists are advised that the 200 block of East Broad Street, which is Route 209, will be closed to cars from about 10 p.m. to midnight.
Other communities will offer their own take on the New Year's Eve holiday with festivities for young and old.
The Joliett Fire Company, will open its doors at 7:30 p.m. for bingo starting at 9 p.m. at the firehouse. The Saint Clair Lions Club will sponsor a bingo event at 9:30 p.m., with doors opening at 8:30 p.m. Reservations are required by calling Bob or Dot at 570-429-0549 or 570-429-9939.
Bible Tabernacle Church, Margaretta Street, Schuylkill Haven, will hold a Watch Night Service beginning at 7 p.m.