Last year, Chicago finally got a large scale outdoor New Year's Eve celebration in the form of Chi-Town Rising, which featured concerts, a gigantic rising star and midnight fireworks. According to organizers, the inaugural event attracted 90,000 people to celebrations organized around the Chicago riverfront. While it was initially pitched as a free event, in 2015 organizers decided at the last minute to start charging for access to the event's main festivities, selling $150 tickets that granted access to the area in front of the Hyatt Regency Chicago where acts like Chicago and American Authors performed.
For the 2016 iteration of the year-end party, organizers are once again promising that access to Chi-Town Rising will be free and open to the public. However, you won't be able to simply walk in to the designated viewing areas—you'll need to register for free tickets to Chi-Town Rising's outdoor celebrations.
This year, the main outdoor celebration will take place in two locations:
The North Viewing Area will be the epicenter of the celebration, located north of the Chicago River between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive. This is where NBC 5 will be hosting its broadcast of the festivities, so you'll be able to see the yet-to-be-announced host and any celebrity guests that show up. You'll also have a decent view of the rising star and the midnight fireworks.
The South Viewing Area will be located on Upper Wacker Drive, between Michigan Avenue and Columbus Drive, and will host the main performance stage where the headlining musical guests (which also have not yet been announced) will be stationed. If you want to get as close to the rising star as possible, this is the place to be.
Attendees can secure free tickets to one or both of the viewing areas, but guests will need to arrive to the viewing area before 9pm on New Year's Eve to secure their spot for the evening. Once the viewing areas reach capacity, no more guests will be admitted. There's a one ticket limit per email address, so if you're planning to attend with a group of friends, you'll all need to submit a request for tickets.
Of course, if you're not willing to brave the elements and crowd, you can always tune into a live broadcast of Chi-Town Rising on NBC 5 and Telemundo on New Year's Eve.
Want more? Sign up here to stay in the know.