Seasonal & Holidays

Where To Celebrate New Year's Eve 2023 In Narragansett-South Kingstown

Whether you want to get outside or celebrate with a glass of champagne — maybe both — there are plenty of options in Narragansett and SK.

Jimmy Bentley's profile picture
Jimmy Bentley, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
Locally, there are ways to spend the day outside, plus restaurants and other locations with offerings.
Locally, there are ways to spend the day outside, plus restaurants and other locations with offerings. (Shutterstock)

NARRAGANSETT-SOUTH KINGSTOWN, RI — New Year’s Eve is always dominated by nightlife, but there are plenty of options locally for those who don’t necessarily care to spend the first night of the new year awake at midnight.

Locally, there are ways to spend the day outside, plus restaurants and other locations with offerings.

However, the night owls among us also have a great spread of events to choose from, too.

Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Here is a look at some additional events happening around Narragansett, South Kingstown, and the rest of Rhode Island:

In the United States, one of the most popular New Year’s Eve traditions is the dropping of the giant ball in New York City’s Times Square. Other U.S. cities have adopted iterations of the ball drop — the Chick Drop in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the giant Potato Drop in Boise, Idaho, for example.

Find out what's happening in Narragansett-South Kingstownwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

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.

Have a news tip? Email [email protected].

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Narragansett-South Kingstown