Happy Friday, Beacon readers! Lauren Frick here, and I’m back from a festive, family-filled Christmas to close out your holiday week with some of the Beacon’s best of the year in today’s Daily Roundup. (And by “back” I mean I’m at my childhood home in Ohio typing at the neon green desk I BEGGED my parents to get me when I was 10 years old.)
It’s customary this time of year that when one holiday door closes, you must go full steam ahead and burst through the next. The 10 Christmas cookies you ate yesterday might still be digesting, but it’s time to multi-task and start making your New Year’s Eve plans.
To give you a head start, here’s a list of fun events happening around the valley to help you ring in 2026:
Enjoy a festive New Year’s Eve dinner menu featuring oysters, lobster-stuffed tortelloni, pistachio-crusted lamb chop and more. Reservations are recommended.
New Wave Time Trippers Reunion Concert
8:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. at the O’Shaughnessy Center, 1 Central Ave., Whitefish
Legendary local 80’s cover band The New Wave Time Trippers are reuniting for a special performance on New Year’s Eve at the O’Shaughnessy Center. The reboot features A.I.-enhanced virtual digitized band members, karaoke segments, vintage video content, door prizes and an included champagne toast. Doors open at 8:30 p.m. Tickets available exclusively through Eventbrite.
(Read more from me about this event next week!)
The Firebrand Hotel’s Second-Annual Fish Drop
5 p.m. at the Firebrand Hotel & Restaurant, 650 E. Third St., Whitefish
Countdown to the New Year at the Second-Annual Dropping of The Fish from the Firebrand Rooftop. The evening will feature live music, including local legend John Dunnigan from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., followed by blues/reggae/rock band, Brent Jameson & the Sordid Seeds from 9 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Finally, grab your complimentary glass of sparkling wine and gather outside to watch as an illuminated eight-foot fish descends from the top of the Firebrand. When that giant fish drops, it’s pure Whitefish magic — small-town charm and big-sky energy.
Dinner reservations required from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Call 406.863.1919.
New Year’s Eve Celebration in the Boat Club
5 p.m. at The Lodge at Whitefish Lake, 1380 Wisconsin Ave.
Light up the New Year in the Boat Club Bar with champagne, sparklers and passed desserts at midnight. Start the celebration with dinner in the dining room, then ring in the New Year with a party in the bar featuring sparklers, a champagne toast and “dessert drop” at midnight. Dinner reservations strongly suggested 406.863.4040.
New Year’s Eve Dinner and Price it Right Game Show
6 p.m. Waters Edge Winery and Bistro Kalispell, 2593 U.S. Hwy 2 E. Ste. 8
Join for an unforgettable New Year’s Eve experience as Waters Edge Winery & Bistro transforms into a full-scale game show celebration. Your evening begins with a grazing table overflowing with artisan cheeses, charcuterie, fruits, dips, breads and festive bites. Then settle in for a prime rib dinner with all the fixings, crafted fresh by Waters Edge’s culinary team to make the night feel truly special.
The event host leads a series of interactive game-show rounds where guests come on down, spin, guess, bid, and compete for fantastic prizes donated by local businesses. With only 40 seats available, the event stays intimate —giving everyone a chance to be part of the show. Purchase tickets here.
Montana Brave Hearts Dueling Pianos Fundraiser
6:30 p.m. at Hilton Garden Inn Kalispell, 1840 U.S. 93 S.
Montana Brave Hearts, formerly Evit’s Hope, was founded in Fall 2022 with the primary goal of raising money for research that could change the narrative for those living with a critical congenital heart defect (CHD).
This Black Tie evening will include a full dinner, first drink free at a cash bar, bottle of wine or bucket of beer for sponsor tables and three-plus hours of dueling pianos. In order to request songs, individuals from the audience will leave their written request on the piano, with a cash donation, and the song with the most cash will get priority. All cash taken throughout the performance will go to benefit Montana Brave Hearts. Tickets and more information can be found here.
New Year’s Eve Party with The Max
8 p.m. at Great Northern Bar, 27 Central Ave., Whitefish
Come ring in 2026 with the party band, The Max. Doors open at 8 p.m. and music starts at 9:30 p.m.. The night includes party favors, cheap drinks and “one hell of a party.” Advanced tickets are $55 and can be purchased here.
New Year’s Eve Party at Buffalo Saloon
10 p.m. at Buffalo Saloon and Casino, 5 Swan Way, Bigfork
K-Niption Fit will be playing until midnight, and the evening will include a champagne toast and fireworks outside.
New Year’s Eve Torchlight Parade and Fireworks
5:30 to 8 p.m. at Whitefish Mountain Resort, 3905 Big Mountain Road
Help us say goodbye to 2025 with a fiery Torchlight Parade and Fireworks to bring in the New Year. This event includes a torchlight parade (open to the public for spectators or participants) followed by fireworks under the big sky.
The Torchlight Parade and Fireworks will begin at 5:45 p.m., just outside of Ed and Mully’s Restaurant in the Upper Village. The fireworks display will begin at the end of the Torchlight Parade. Spectators are encouraged to assemble at the bottom of Ed’s Run, near Ed & Mully’s.
Night Skiing on Chair 2 will close during the Torchlight. Chairs 3 and 6 will remain open.
And of course, you could always take a page out of my and fellow staff writer Mariah Thomas’ book and watch the Stranger Things series finale on NYE (Steve Harrington better make it out alive!).
While I start the countdown to the new year, here’s the rest of today’s Daily Roundup in 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1 …
From the consequences of mass firings of public land managers to trade war tensions with Canada and the Flathead’s hidden immigrant communities, here are a few of our best stories from the last year
Known across the globe as “the ultimate-feel good show,” THE CHOIR OF MAN offers up indisputable joy for all ages! Featuring pop, classic rock, folk, Broadway and pub tunes, THE CHOIR OF MAN has something for everyone. A multi-talented cast of nine guys combine hair-raising harmonies, foot-stomping singalongs, world-class tap dance and poetic meditations on the power of community in this riotously enjoyable homage to that gathering place we all love so much: your local pub!
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