New Year's Eve 2009 in Tucson Arizona

New Year's Eve is a night for partying all over the globe and the Old Pueblo is no different. There are several great places to choose from here in Tucson and part of your choice depends on what part of town you're planning on hitting.

For those who are headed downtown, Fourth Avenue is the place to be. Parties will held along the avenue, but there are some notable parties to put on your list. Clubs such as Plush and Heart Five are good choices for great dancing and reasonably priced drinks. The Surly Wench, Frog & Firkin and O'Malley's will be partying pub style with drink specials, live music, dancing and great bar fare. The grand-daddy of them all, of course, is the party at Hotel Congress. Live music, great drinks and dancing, and perhaps even a ghost sighting or two. If you plan on going to the party at the Hotel Congress, be sure to get your tickets in advance.

If you're partying in the Foothills and are looking for a younger upscale crowd, try Ra sushi, or North. Both places have kickin' parties, decent drink prices and excellent food. For a more sophisticated New Year's Eve, try Sullivan's for killer martinis and live jazz or Level, a great lounge with three distinct areas including a large patio.

If none of these are what you're looking for, or if this year you want something a little different, check out these alternatives.

New Year's Jazz Gala: The Tucson Jazz Society will stage a star-studded New Year's Eve Jazz Gala Weekend at JW Marriott Starr Pass Resort, December 29-31. The three-day festival is being billed as the "greatest jazz party Tucson has ever experienced." Performances by national and local jazz musicians are scheduled around Friday happy hour, Sunday brunch, and Monday dinner, with a New Year's Eve dance party featuring New York's Yaz Band, starring saxophonist Yasuyuki Takagi. More information, including hotel-and-ticket package prices, is available from the Tucson Jazz Society at (520) 903-1265 or www.tucsonjazz.org.

USTA Winter Tennis Championships Dec. 27-Jan 1, 2008 (Tucson) Top-rated 12- and under-14-year-old tennis players compete in major, annual United States Tennis Association (USTA) sanctioned event, hosted by Tucson Parks & Recreation. Randolph Tennis Center, (520) 791-4896.Website

Thunder in the Desert Dec. 28-Jan. 6 (Tucson) New millennium first people's world fair and powwow at Rillito Racetrack Park., (520) 622-4900. Website

New Year's Competition Powwow & Craft Market Dec. 29-30, 31 (Tucson) Outdoor powwow, with exhibition dancers and exhibitors, children's activity center, tipi village, food and traditional and contemporary music. Rillito Racetrack Park., (520) 622-4900.

Anyway you serve it up, you're going to have fun this New Year's Eve! Cheers!!