Ring in New Year with selfie at ‘disco cowboy hat’ in Fort Worth; fireworks, parking info
December 27,2023
See full Fort Worth Star-Telegram article by David Montesino here.
Ring in the New Year in downtown Fort Worth Sunday and mark it with a selfie memento in front of the “disco cowboy hat” — dubbed that name by a TikTok user — sitting in the heart of Sundance Square.
The giant hat — sixteen feet long, about 6 feet tall and 12 feet wide — is covered in thousands of small mirrors giving it the look of a disco ball.
“Last year’s NYE celebration in Sundance Square was attended by more than 15,000; and those coming this year are encouraged to arrive well in advance of the midnight countdown,” according to a Sundance Square press release.
The New Year’s Eve party in Fort Worth is “the largest public gathering of its kind in North Texas,” Sundance Square communication consultant Bryan Eppstein told the Star-Telegram.
“That makes it so cool,” Eppstein added.
Here’s what to expect at this year’s Fort Worth New Year’s Eve party.
TAKE A SELFIE IN FRONT OF FORT WORTH’S DISCO COWBOY HAT
A very Texas selfie prop. This giant mirrored cowboy hat sits in the heart of Sundance Square. You can’t miss it. How else could Cowtown appropriately usher in a new year? By tipping a cowboy hat, of course.
But how did the disco cowboy hat become an attraction in the plaza?
To ring in the year 2020, organizers of the New Year’s Eve party in downtown Fort Worth four years ago threw a Texas twist to the often used ball drop countdown: “We’re not gonna drop the ball, we’re not going to do anything like that, we’re going to raise our hat to the city of Fort Worth,” Encore Live’s Walter Kinzie told Fox4News.com at the time.
It was a big hit.
“People went crazy over the hat,” Eppstein said.
But somehow the hat disappeared through a year of COVID-19 distractions. A new hat was commissioned in 2022, which is the mirrored hat that has not left Sundance Square since the party earlier this year.
“It surprises me how many people line up to take pictures with it,” he said. “Next to the Chisholm Trail Mural, it is the most photographed piece on the Square.”
WHEN DOES THE FORT WORTH NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY BEGIN?
Festivities kick off at 6 p.m. Sunday and is expected to last until 1 a.m. Monday.
The party will feature music from Quimikoz (6-8:45 p.m.), Ice House (9:15-11:15 p.m. and DJ Danny West (in between band breaks and from 11:15 p.m.-1 a.m.).
There will be food trucks and beverage bars. Street entertainment includes a western trick roper, mimes, jugglers, aerialists and stilt walkers.
WHAT TIME IS THE FIREWORKS DISPLAY?
Fireworks will punctuate the evening’s countdown to 2024 at midnight.
“This year’s fireworks show from atop the Westbrook Building will be spectacular,” said Ed Kraus, security chief at Sundance. “It will be a great way for our community to ‘tip our hat’ to the New Year.”
IS PARKING AT THE NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY AT SUNDANCE SQUARE FREE?
The organizers of this year’s New Year’s Eve party in downtown Fort Worth point to the thousands who came to the Sundance Square shindig last year to ask people to plan ahead.
There will be both free and paid parking options this year.
Also, Sundance Square Garage #3 at 345 W 3rd Street will have free parking until 3 a.m. Monday.
Location Mentioned: Sundance Square Plaza