Late to the party?
No plans? It’s not too late to welcome 2016 in style
No party? No problem. Here are five fast RSVPs you can send out today to kick-start 2016.
Put on your fancy pants Cufflinks and capelets are made for New Year’s Eve with several snappy events offering last-minute tickets at the door. Bond is the not-so-secret theme of a six-course dinner at Toulà, the Italian restaurant on the 38th floor of the Westin Harbour Castle overlooking Lake Ontario ($150, 7:30 p.m., One Harbour Square, toularestaurant.com).
The reliably glam Montecito, which has hosted visiting VIPs Robert Downey Jr. and Jennifer Garner, is serving a threecourse dinner ($70, 5 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.) followed by an open-bar dance party ($85) with diva-driven DJ Lissa Monet. (299 Adelaide St. W., montecitorestaurant.ca, for reservations call 416-5990299) For more divas live, Bravissimo! at Roy
Thomson Hall is billed as “opera’s greatest hits” with signature showstoppers from Aida and Carmen ($55 to $145,
7 p.m., 60 Simcoe St., roythomson.com).
Free your mind
Be your best self from the first seconds of 2016. Lotus Yoga Centre hosts an allnight program with the last hour of 2015 dedicated to meditation and intention setting (donations collected for Covenant House, 8 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., Guru Ram Das Ashram, 348 Palmerston Blvd., RSVP at lotusyogacentre.com).
Soulistic Dance Movement hosts an evening of guided meditation, culminating in a barefoot “conscious dance” party, which combines meditation with dance ($50, 8 p.m., Temple 23, 7 Fraser Ave., Unit 2, email info@djlune.com). Turn back time Welcome the future by reliving the past. Chronologic starts in the ’90s — the 1890s — and spins through the decades to culminate in 2015 tunes ($35, 9:30 p.m., The Garrison, 1197 Dundas St. W., goinsteady.ca).
Cherry-pick favourites of the ’60s, ’90s and ’00s at Bangs & Blush($ 25, 9 p.m., Clinton’s, 693 Bloor St. W., tickets available at the door).
And party like it’s Much Dance 1999 with Tony “Master T” Young. The legendary MuchMusic VJ will be playing Xtendamix- era dance videos at Smiling Buddha ($25, 9 p.m., 961 College St., info@thesmilingbuddha.ca). NYE for $0 No tickets? No problem. Toronto’s traditional fireworks display marks midnight at Nathan Phillips Square, with DJs from 8 p.m. At Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens Quay W.), the Natrel Rink is open from 8 p.m. to1a.m. with classic and current tunes on deck. Etc. Think beyond the ball drop this New Year’s Eve.
Swing into 2016 with a crash-course in Lindy hop by Swing Toronto, followed by an evening of flapper festivities scored by live band Les Petits Nouveaux ($45, 8 p.m., Dovercourt House, 805 Dovercourt Rd., tickets at the door, swingtoronto.com).
Buddies in Bad Times throws its annual fete for the gay and/or glorious, hosted by Toronto’s preeminent ladybear Fay Slift ($10, 10 p.m., 12 Alexander St., buddiesinbadtimes.com). And Heaven Gastro Club in Waterloo, Ont., throws the ultimate Jedi summit with its New Year’s Light Saber Battle party. Lightsabers are, of course, provided ($20, 9 p.m., 160 University Ave. W., Waterloo, www.facebook.com/heavengastroclub).