Bottles of alcohol. Dec. 28, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — New Year’s Eve is one of heaviest drinking holidays of the year. According to the American Addiction Centers, Americans consume an average of 4.4 alcoholic drinks that night.
“The old adage that most people do go out and party and drink for New Year’s Eve,” Grand Chute Police Lt. James Shepherd said.
And this year’s celebration will be starting off a bit earlier for fans of the green and gold.
“We have a live DJ, we give away prizes, we do free shots during touchdowns,” owner of The 10th Frame Chad Van Daalwyk said. “It’s just a really good time. We do a free food buffet and then right following the Packer game, we do live music.”
It will be a busy day there, as well as other bars in the Fox Valley.
“It’s gonna be different because we’re not used to the Packers playing on New Year’s Eve,” Van Daalwyk said. “Especially at night, especially with everything going on.”
With some of those fans likely sticking around to usher in the New Year, Van Daalwyk is expecting crowds to finally come back to pre-pandemic levels.
“We’re hoping for really good numbers this year,” Van Daalwyk said. “We advertised it a lot and we have full staff in the bar, the kitchen, the bowling alley and we’re ready to have a good time.”
Each year there are hundreds of traffic fatalities on New Year’s linked to alcohol-impaired driving. So, with the extra traffic comes extra reminders for those out on the roads, from police and bar owners alike.
“Obviously if you’ve been drinking, don’t be driving because we don’t want there to be any issues as far as accidents or people who drank too much getting in trouble for operating while intoxicated,” Shepherd said.
“They can leave their cars in the parking lot overnight,” Van Daalwyk said. “We’re not one of those places that tow them. We’ll have Fox Valley Cab and other companies they can call, and we cut people off if we see they’re a little too intoxicated.”
That also includes the Tavern League SafeRide program. Van Daalwyk encourages anyone to make use of it, so people can have their fun while also being safe.
Comments