Don't Forget New Year's Eve!

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In the hustle and bustle of the holidays, don’t forget to make plans for New Year’s Eve. Give yourself an extra-special gift this year, with a local night out!

Tap your toes to the award-winning bluegrass sounds of Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road, along with Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out, as the bands perform in concert on Saturday, Dec. 31 at 8 p.m., at the Garner Performing Arts Center.

Jordan, of Garner, has been performing bluegrass music for more than 20 years and formed the popular Carolina Road band in 1998. Known for her lead vocals and hard-driving mandolin chop, she’s a 2011 nominee for the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America’s Entertainer of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year awards. 

Carolina Road is a 2011 nominee for the SPGBMA’s Vocal Group of the Year, Instrumental Group of the Year and Gospel Group of the Year awards. The band released its latest album, Back to My Roots, in October, and performs across the U.S., Canada and Europe.

IIIrd Tyme Out formed in 1991 and is led by Moore, three-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Male Vocalist of the Year award.

The band earned IBMA’s Vocal Group of the Year award for seven consecutive years, and is known for its rich vocal blends and numerous appearances on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

Tickets for this New Year’s Eve show include hors d’oeuvres; a cash bar will be available. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door, and are available by calling the Garner Performing Arts Center at (919) 661-4602 or at www.garnerperformingartscenter.com.

Looking for a different kind of party on New Year’s Eve?

Party for a cause at Sparkle with a Passion, at the Grand Marquise Ballroom in Garner beginning at 9 p.m.

The event benefits the nonprofit Caring Community Foundation, which provides financial assistance to cancer patients in and around the Triangle for basic needs such as rent, utilities and treatment.

The party features live entertainment, a taste of the town dinner, open beer and wine bar, champagne toast and party favors.

Tickets are $75, and are available at www.caringcommunityfoundation.org, or in person at Anfesa’s Jewelers inside the Grand Marquise Ballroom, located at 205 New Fidelity Court in Garner, or at the Garner Chamber of Commerce.