New Year’s Eve 2022 In Oak Lawn: 115 Bourbon Street, Haunted Trails

OAK LAWN, IL — You don’t have to spend New Year’s Eve on the sofa watching Anderson Cooper. There are plenty of parties, shows and family events planned in Chicago’s south suburbs to help you ring in 2023.

The Oak Lawn Park District is offering New Year’s Eve tennis drills at the Racquet, Fitness and Gymnastics Center, 10444 S. Central Ave. Three sessions will be held Saturday, Dec, 31, from 9 to 10 a.m., 10 a.m. to noon and noon to 2 p.m. Tennis drills focus on skill development, serve and return, scored, consistency. Registration is required. Sessions are priced at $17 and $33.

Here is a look at some additional events happening in the Oak Lawn area:

December 30

Noon Year’s Eve Countdown
Palos Heights Recreation Dept.
6601 W. 127th St.
10 a.m. to noon, Friday, Dec. 30
Instead of midnight, kids 10 and under can count down the time to 12 noon. The rec center will transform the gym into a mini Times Square, complete withu music and a “countdown to noon” balloon drop. This is a perfect way to spend New Year’s Eve with your kids. This is a popular event, so register now. The is cost $10 per child (residents) and $12 per child (non-resident). Registration is required.

December 31

115 Bourbon Street
3359 W. 111th St., Merrionette Park
9 a.m. to 1 a.m. Dec. 31 to Jan. 1; doors open at 8 p.m.
Ring in the new year with LOUDERNOW and resident DJs. New Year’s Eve party package includes 3 MASSIVE ROOMS of entertainment, liquor (except premium liquor) buffet, dinner and breakfast. Semiformal dress code. Tickets required, $75 to $85, buy in advance on Eventbrite. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door New Year’s Eve for $100. Email i[email protected] or call 708-388-8881.

Beverly Arts Center
2407 W. 111th St., Chicago
7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Dec. 31
Ring in the new year with WGN-TV personality Pat Tomasulo hilarious stand-up comedy spectacular at the Beverly Arts Center, with two really big shows. This will be Pat's first time onstage at the BAC since his sold out NYE shows in 2019. Don't miss this opportunity to laugh your way into 2023. Tickets are $50. Buy in advance.

Haunted Trails Family Entertainment Center
7759 S Harlem Ave, Burbank
6 to 10 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 31
Guests will enjoy a New Year’s Buffet including soft drinks and dessert plus each paid guest receives $25 in Game Play, 1 Lazer Frenzy Challenge, Party Hats and Favors, a Balloon Drop, New Year’s toast, and countdown celebration. It will be a night families will remember for only $41.95/guest. Advanced reservations are required.All guests ages 3 and up must be on package. Kids 2 and under eat free, but do not receive game play or attractions. Visit Haunted Trails or call 708-598-8580 for more information or to make a reservation.

New Year’s Eve Comedy Show and After Party
9020 W. 159th St., Orland Park
8 p.m. to 1 a.m., Dec. 31
Fetti Celebrations Event Venue presents a New Year’s Eve Comedy Show featuring Chicago comedians Tyler Fowler, Mike Samp and Vik Pandya and all inclusive after party. Package includes hot and cold hors d'oeuvres and desserts, open champagne and wine bar, entertainment including a live DJ, comedy show and photo ops. Midnight balloon drop and confetti storm, with a champagne toast at midnight. Party favors provided. Semi-formal/cocktail attire. Age 21+. Tickets are $75. Purchase in advance. Proof of Purchase is required for entry. Enter primary ticket holder's name in the "add a note" section upon checkout.

Silver Lake Country Club
14700 S. 82nd Ave., Orland Park
7 p.m. Dec. 31 to 1 a.m. Jan. 1
They’re almost sold out, so get your tickets now and come celebrate New Year's Eve with Silver Lake, featuring live entertainment, dinner, and top-shelf open bar. Music by The Hat Guys, and two DJs playing. Dinner includes hot and cold appetizers, shrimp cocktail, 6-oz. filet Mignon, parmesan-crusted chicken piccata, double-baked potato, and a specialty dessert. Top shelf bar from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. $150/person. Make your reservations by calling 708.349.6940 ext. 5, or emailing [email protected]. Online reservations also available.

Get Lit Up New Year's Eve Party
Blarney Stone Pub
15400 S. Cicero Ave., Oak Forest
9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
$50 buys guests an open bar, party favors and champagne toast. Pizza at midnight. DJ Matt playing. Buy tickets online.

January 1

New Year Day Comedy Show
Holiday Inn
6201 Joliet Road, Countryside
8 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023
Start the new year with a laugh. HBO funny lady Sonya D hosts an all-star lineup of comics, featuring Aaliyah Ford, Cecilia Gonzalez and Marvin “Dubs” Phipps. Come early and have dinner at Jameson’s Steak House adjacent to the hotel. Tickets are $18. Buy them in advance on Goldstar.

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is, of course, the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Various cities have adopted their own iterations of the event — the Peach Drop in Atlanta, the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho.

The end of one year and beginning of another is often celebrated with the singing of “Auld Lang Syne,” a Scottish folk song whose title roughly translates to “days gone by,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica and History.com.

The history of New Year’s resolutions dates back 8,000 years to ancient Babylonians, who would make promises to return borrowed objects and pay outstanding debts at the beginning of the new year, in mid-March when they planted their crops.

According to legend, if they kept their word, pagan gods would grant them favor in the coming year. If they broke the promise, they would fall out of God’s favor, according to a history of New Year’s resolutions compiled by North Hampton Community College New Center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Many secular New Year’s resolutions focus on imagining new, improved versions of ourselves. The failure rate of New Year’s resolutions is about 80 percent, according to U.S. News & World Report. There are myriad reasons, but a big one is they’re made out of remorse for gaining weight, for example, and aren’t accompanied by a shift in attitude and a plan to meet the stress and discomfort of changing a habit or condition.