Todd Schall-Vess is climbing the roof of the Byrd Theatre again for New Year's Eve.
But when the ball rises to the top of the tower at the stroke of midnight, Carytown is more likely to look like a bustling restaurant district than Times Square.
"We started a tradition down here in Carytown, so I think it's important that it continue," Schall-Vess, general manager of the Byrd, said as he set up the ball on a chilly Wednesday afternoon.
Instead of the estimated 25,000 people who thronged Carytown for the last official New Year's celebration two years ago, the countdown to 2011 is more likely to draw a crowd of a few thousand.
Up to 1,200 people came last year despite low temperatures. This year, the temperature is forecast no lower than 39 degrees on New Year's Eve, followed by a high of 60 on the first day of the new year.
"If it is balmy, I don't think we'll have any trouble doubling the number of people we had last year," said Schall-Vess, who has been having a ball at the Byrd on New Year's for six years, counting the first celebration at the neighboring New York Deli.
The difference is that West Cary Street will remain open and no one will be asked to make a $2 donation to attend, as they were on the last night of 2008. And that's expected to be good business for the popular dining and shopping district, which features more than three dozen restaurants.
"I think people were the happiest when we just let it happen," said Bob Broomfield, president of the Carytown Merchants Association and owner of Play N Trade on West Cary Street.
The formal celebration at the end of 2008 made it tough on restaurants and other businesses that weren't in the thick of the action but were affected by the street closure and the lack of parking available for their customers.
"We hurt their New Year's business, and for restaurants, that's a big day," Broomfield said.
Still, it won't be a dull New Year's. The Ululating Mummies promise a lively start to the party with a performance that afternoon at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden's New Year's Eve Family Frolic. Those festivities begin at 2 p.m. and end at 5 p.m.
Richmond police don't have any particular focus for this New Year's Eve, other than getting drunken drivers off city streets.
"As of right now, we have our normal patrols, as well as DUI enforcement," spokeswoman Karla Peters said.
In Carytown, the biggest challenge won't be driving or parking. It's more likely to be picking the right place to eat and ring in the new year.
Broomfield said he and his wife are still mulling restaurant menus. "We've got to make our minds up soon," he said, "because they're running out of reservations."
mmartz@timesdispatch.com
(804) 649-6964
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