Fewer than half the people who celebrated New Year’s Eve in Carytown pitched in to help pay for it, organizers say. With total attendees estimated by organizers to number at least 25,000, $20,000 to $21,000 was collected through a $2 per-person donation.

A few hundred people, most of them appearing happily sober, populated the sidewalks of Carytown early last night waiting for the big lighted ball to be hoisted above the Byrd Theatre. As many as 20,000 people were expected for Carytown’s third New Year’s Eve party, but the crowd appeared well below that with four hours to go. Some 4,000 attended the first event and last year’s crowd was estimated at 14,000.

Doubling the number of Richmond police for Carytown’s New Year’s Eve party and making an emergency lane down the middle of the street have driven up security expenses.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES—Closed tomorrow. POSTAL SERVICE—Closed tomorrow; no delivery.  STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICES—Close at 1 p.m. today and will reopen Monday.  RICHMOND AREA COUNTY, CITY OFFICES—Richmond, Charles City, Hanover and Henrico closed tomorrow and will reopen Friday. Chesterfield, Goochland, Powhatan and New Kent closed tomorrow and will reopen Monday.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFICES—Closed Thursday. POSTAL SERVICE—Closed Thursday; no delivery.  STATE GOVERNMENT OFFICES—Close at 1 p.m. Wednesday and will reopen Monday.  RICHMOND AREA COUNTY, CITY OFFICES—Richmond, Charles City, Hanover and Henrico closed Thursday and will reopen Friday. Chesterfield, Goochland, Powhatan and New Kent closed Thursday and will reopen Monday.

Planning to ring in the new year in Carytown on Wednesday night? Plan on bringing your wallet. The third annual street party promises to be bigger and more organized than ever. It’ll be so big, in fact, organizers say they are having to resort to asking for a $2 donation (under 12 free with adult) to help pay what’s expected to be a $125,000 to $130,000 bill—including nearly $60,000 for security—to stage the event.

From kids activities and scavenger hunts to comedy shows and burlesque, there is something going on for all ages and tastes to ring in 2009 around Richmond.

What wine to serve New Year’s Eve? What would best tickle the nose? What goes best with oysters, caviar, shellfish or just about anything.? Sparkling wine, in one form or another, is the answer to all of these questions. It could be Champagne from France, Cava from Spain (especially a pinot noir-based Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Noirs), spumante or prosecco from Italy, Sekt from Germany or Cremant from France’s Burgundy and Alsace regions.

Champagne and caviar might not be in your budget this New Year’s Eve, but you won’t need to resort to crackers and cheese spread to keep the cost of the festivities under control. There are plenty of options for foods that are as good to your wallet as they are to your guests. Consider making bite-size pizzas using store-bought dough and sauce. Making the dough yourself is easy, and even cheaper.

Weekend is looking for open-to-the-public New Year’s Eve events to publish Thursday, Dec. 25. If you’re hosting a whoop-it-up party or a family-friendly celebration that’s open to all, e-mail the details by noon tomorrow to Pat Row at . Be sure to include, time, place (give street address), cost and phone number for publication. If there’s a reservation deadline, indicate the date.

Cocktails made with champagne sound great, and they generally taste great—as long as your expectations aren’t high. Take, for example, the classic mimosa, a Sunday brunch staple. But a good mimosa can be hard to find. A cynic might suggest that mimosas are restaurants’ way of marking up cheap champagne and disguising its taste with orange juice.

A few hundred people, most of them appearing happily sober, populated the sidewalks of Carytown early last night waiting for the big lighted ball to be hoisted above the Byrd Theatre. As many as 20,000 people were expected for Carytown’s third New Year’s Eve party, but the crowd appeared well below that with four hours to go. Some 4,000 attended the first event and last year’s crowd was estimated at 14,000.

It's never too early to start celebrating the new year.  One of the earliest fetes begins Monday afternoon at Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.