To Do 12.31.20

CELEBRATE: a new year via screen time or drive-in.

Honk if you’re ready to shut the door on 2020. Join in some virtual and socially distanced New Year’s Eve traditions made new around the county. First Night Monterey is still on and streaming on YouTube. Kids activities start early, at 3pm on Thursday, Dec. 31. Then at 8pm, the Evening Arts Festival begins featuring performances by Monterey Jazz Festival’s Next Generation Jazz Band, the Gerald Clayton Quartet, Fields of Eden, MC Lars, Yvette Gonzales-Nacer Trio, Dirty Cello and more. Plus, this year they’re partnering with First Night celebrations in Springfield, Illinois, and St. Petersburg, Florida for other featured performances. Want something a little more participatory? PacRep is having a drive-in performance to bid farewell to 2020. Titled “The Beat Goes On Tribute Concert,” it features PacRep tribute artists: Davitt Felder, David Schulz, Don Dally, Lydia Lyons and Daniel Simpson, backed by Southern California tribute band The Echo Boomers. The slate of performers will play some of the greatest hits over the decades from some of the most iconic musicians like Elvis Presley, Sonny and Cher, and others. Call 622-0100 or go to pacrep.org for tickets.

DJ: Your own dance party.

Turn on the countdown in the background and then whip out the subwoofer or vinyl player and get to clearing the floor with your own moves. You don’t need to know how to scratch to get the party started. All you need is a couple of danceable tunes. You can, of course, just listen to your Spotify 2020 Wrapped playlist, but you can also go old-school and rummage through your vinyl collection. If you’re missing some essential pieces, make a quick run to Siren Records in Monterey or Vinyl Revolution in Pacific Grove.

SET: a theme to your resolutions.

The good news is that the Covid lockdown has taught us a lot. The bad news is that we do not have a crystal ball to see what’s in store for society in 2021. On top of your concrete resolutions – like backpacking across Europe, dating more or running the Big Sur Marathon – stick to something looser, like a theme, one word that will help you define your new year, to reorient yourself when your concrete goals become impossible. So maybe if your theme for 2021 is “love,” but holding hands with your Tinder date poses a public health threat, you can work on other “love”-related goals, like taking better care of your mental health or reinforcing your independence. If 2020 has taught us anything, is that the pandemic can change anyone’s life in a matter of days. Embrace that it can happen and prepare for it.