By Grace Reid
Tickets to Ottawa’s millennium parties are selling faster than people can break their New Year’s resolutions.
Upper-end millennium celebrations in Ottawa are extremely popular when compared to those in one of the world’s richest cities — New York City.
The Big Apple’s most affluent bash, the Manhattan party, was a bust due to lack of interest. Sting, Aretha Franklin, and Chuck Berry were expected to perform, with ticket prices starting at $1,000.
High-end parties in this region, however, are proving to be an easy sell.
“People were hesitating to book at first because they didn’t want to miss out on something more exciting, but our phones have been ringing off the hook for the last two weeks,” says Martine Pigeon, the Westin’s service express manager.
For Ottawa partygoers, the Westin Hotel, Château Laurier Hotel, National Arts Centre, and Parliament Hill each offer unique celebrations at varying prices.
The Westin’s New Year’s Eve Gala costs $250 per ticket. This includes a cocktail reception, dinner, wine, party favours and entertainment such as a live band and celebrity disc jockey.
“Tickets are going fast. We only have 100 of 1,000 tickets left,” says Pigeon.
Similarly, tickets to the Château Laurier’s “Celebration of a Lifetime” are selling like BeaverTails during Winterlude.
Deneen Perrin, Château Laurier’s communication and promotion manager, says 300 of 350 packages were sold as of Nov. 30. The package price starts at $1,299 per couple and includes overnight accommodation, a reception, and your choice of a gala theme dinner.
The themes offered are a Titanic voyage, a ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s night, and a Canadian musical event.
A third millennium option is the NAC’s “Musical Gems of the 20th Century.” The concert stars The Phantom of the Opera’s Jeff Hyslop, Les Misérables’ Louise Pitre, and the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra.
The cost is $105 and an additional $94 for dinner.
The NAC declines to say how many of the 2,400 tickets have been bought, but Nina LaChapelle, the NAC’s marketing officer, says they’ve been “extremely pleased.”
Despite the popularity of these millennium festivities, some Ottawans won’t be spending extravagantly this New Year’s.
Centretown resident Gosia Baraniak thought the parties sounded fun — until she heard the cost. “That’s absolutely outrageous,“ she says.
Robin Fitzgerald agrees, “I’m just not ready to fork out the big bucks . . . even for the millennium.”
A New Year’s celebration at Parliament Hill offers people like Fitzgerald and Baraniak an alternative to big spending.
On Dec. 31, citizens can enjoy a theater extravaganza, fireworks, and special effects on the Hill.
Admission will be free, although Laurie Peters, National Capital Commission’s media relations adviser, says it will cost taxpayers $833,000. Thousands of people are expected to attend.