Fort Lauderdale Downtown Countdown

Fort Lauderdale's free New Year's Eve street festival, hosted by the city and the Orange Bowl, takes over downtown around SW 2nd Street. Kids' activities come first — bounce houses, face painting, games, contests, dancing with the DJ and a special kids' countdown — then live music carries the night to the lighted anchor drop at midnight. SW 2nd Street closes to traffic from the morning of Dec. 31, so plan parking ahead.