Get Ready for New Years Events

This year was a pretty big year. Tennessee hit a record with 105.3 million visitors, a plethora of new attractions, and a whole lot of fun. It's time to wrap 2016 up, though, and welcome a bigger and better 2017. Here are just a few parties you should plan your New Year's Eve around in Tennessee:

Sevier County

Party into 2017 at The Island in Pigeon Forge which will host a bevy of free activities like a midnight ball drop, fireworks, a special showing of the Island Fountains, dancing, live music and more. All the family fun and activities are free and open to the public.

Nearly 50,000 people flock to Gatlinburg to ring in 2017 late Saturday night, Dec. 31 at the intersection of Parkway and Historic Nature Trail at the base of the Space Needle. At the stroke of midnight, fireworks fly off the rooftop of the 400-ft. tall Needle with choreographed music. LED lights have been added to the show to give the event even more pizazz.

Chattanooga

Chattanooga has a wide array of New Year's Eve options for adults and for families. If you're heading out for bro night or getting dolled up with your girlfriends for a night on the town, the city is alive with excitement. Float along the Tennessee River with Southern Belle Riverboat's New Year's Dinner Cruise and New Year's on the River Cruise Dec. 31. For families, an enchanted experience awaits on the Tennessee Valley Railroad's New Year's Dinner Train, a three-course dining experience in a 1924 dining car, departing from Grand Junction Station.

Knoxville

Join your friends and family on Market Square in Knoxville to ring in the new year Dec. 31 for New Year's on the Square.

Nashville

This year's Jack Daniel's Bash on Broadway - New Year's Eve in Music City is going to be the biggest yet with other performances by Keith Urban, Styx, A Thousand Horses, Moon Taxi, Charlie Worsham, and the Fisk Jubilee Singers. Ring in the new year against the backdrop of the State Capitol building at Bicentennial Mall State Park.