This year's theme for the New Year's Eve celebration will be “Takin' it to the Streets” and thousands are expected to do exactly that as they crowd onto the Las Vegas Strip and Fremont Street.

Although they would not release any numbers earlier, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority is now predicting that there will be 291,000 visitors this year. Last year, New Year's Eve attracted 284,000 people to town to celebrate and help boost our local economy.

Police are warning parents that there is a strict curfew being enforced on the Las Vegas Strip for unatteneded children starting at 6 p.m. on the 31st and ending at 5 a.m. on the 1st.

 Road Closures Start at 5 p.m.

The now struggling economy and new building codes are prompting some changes to Wednesday's night's planned celebration.  

This year, all seven Las Vegas Strip firing locations will all be on the ground or on top of hotel parking garages instead of off the roof tops of hotels. 

More than 30,000 effects will be fired during the 8-minute show. The Mandalay Bay convention center parking lot will be the southernmost firing location along with a lot directly across Las Vegas Boulevard from the Luxor.  Parking garages at MGM Grand, Caesars Palace and Treasure Island will be used.  The Las Vegas Convention Center's “gold” parking lot, and a garage at the Stratosphere, round out the show on the northern end of the Strip.   

Map of the Fireworks Firing Locations

SLIDESHOW: Last Year's Fireworks Show

There will also be a party at the Fremont Street Experience called “TributePalooza,” which features 14 hours of live music on stages at 1st and 3rd Streets along Fremont Street.

Daredevil Robbie Knievel will attempt to jump the Mirage volcano on New Year's Eve between 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. He chose this date because it is the 41st anniversary of his father, Evil Knievel's, famous Las Vegas jump.

For local residents trying to see the show from the suburbs, event planners say the tall Strip hotels may actually block part of the view.  The maximum height of the fireworks will be about 300 feet.  Planners sat, this year, the best viewing location is definitely going to be on the Strip itself.

Channel 8 will counting down the New Year's Eve celebration with viewers and will have coverage from several vantage points on the Strip and downtown. The coverage starts at 10 p.m. on Channel 8 and LasVegasNOW.com.

The Regional Transportation Commission will be offering free rides on New Year's Eve as it has done in past years.

The free rides will take place from Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 6 p.m. through Thursday, January 1 at 6 p.m. and apply to all routes throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

Getting Downtown for the NYE Celebration:
Park and ride service will be offered from three College of Southern Nevada campuses to the Downtown Transportation Center from 6 p.m. on New Year's Eve to 2 a.m. on New Year's Day.

1. The Charleston Campus, located at 6375 W. Charleston, between Jones Boulevard and Torrey Pines Drive
2. The Cheyenne Campus, located at 3200 E. Cheyenne Ave.
3. The Henderson Campus, located at 700 College Drive in Henderson

Getting to the Strip for the NYE Celebration:
The Duece double-decker service will operation on the Strip until the street is closed to through traffic. At that time, the Duece service will operation from the Downtown Transportation Center to Sahara Blvd. Route 116 (Koval Lane/Industrial Road) will travel from the South Strip Transfer Terminal at 6675 Gilespie St. to the Downtown Transportation Center. That route will make multiple stops along the resort corridor.

For more detailed information, call 228-RIDE.

Here is a list of some holiday light displays around the valley that are favorites with many of the locals.

Click here for more Warm Holiday Wishes

Winter Lights Festival at Springs Preserve (Nov. 28 - Dec. 30)
The lights display is in the 8-acre garden and throughout the Preserve will be created from half-a-million LED lights, a leading example of a sustainable holiday celebration, consuming 90-percent less electricity than conventional holiday lights. Guests will enjoy entertainment from roaming performance groups, carriage rides, visits with Santa Claus and Theater Las Vegas' original puppet show “Dickens Done Over.” The Festival runs 5 to 9 p.m. Friday through Sunday from Nov. 28 to Dec. 21, 5 to 9 p.m. daily from Dec. 22 to 24 and Dec. 26 (the Preserve is closed on Christmas). Admission is free to annual pass holders and children under 4. The admission is $8 for adults and $6 for children. Las Vegas Springs Preserve, 333 S. Valley View Blvd., Las Vegas, NV 89102

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Magical Forest at Opportunity Village (Nov. 22 – Dec. 30)
Hundreds of trees frosted with millions of lights, incredible holiday displays, a ride on one of our two “Forest Express” passenger trains, a spin on an antique carousel, a windswept trip down the Alpine Slide, a visit to Santa, and finished off with a heaping holiday dose of hot cocoa and funnel cakes. This is a Las Vegas holiday classic. The event opens nightly at 5:30 p.m. Admission is $7.50 for children and $9.50 for adults. Opportunity Village, 6300 W. Oakey Blvd., Las Vegas, Nevada 89146.

View Holiday Photo Slideshow

Gift of Lights (Nov. 13 – Jan. 4)
Enjoy the holidays by experiencing over 200 animated and twinkling light displays in a convenient, comfortable drive-through setting while tuning in to a local radio station to hear the music of the holiday. Great fun for the entire family. Admission is $13 per car but you get $2 off with a bag of items for Goodwill. The event is open nightly Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. – 9 p.m. and on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Enter off of Eastern Ave., just north of Warm Springs. The address is Sunset Park, 2601 E Sunset Rd., Las Vegas, NV, 89120.

Chocolate Wonderland at Ethel M Chocolate Factory (Nov. 19 – Jan.1)
Stroll through a world of beautifully lit cactus plants and enjoy complimentary holiday sweets at Ethel M Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Gardens. There are almost 500,000 lights in the three-acre cactus garden which is a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike. You can visit the gardens from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. Admission is free. Ethel M Chocolate Factory is located at Two Cactus Garden Drive, Henderson, NV 89015

The Culinary Workers Union in Las Vegas is launching a petition effort in hopes of putting stricter rules on the city's development plans as it questions the public financing of a new city hall.

The union said it filed paperwork with the city clerk on Tuesday to qualify a ballot initiative and referendum.

Union Secretary-Treasurer D. Taylor says the city redevelopment agency has gone amok as it moves forward on a $267 million city hall building.

It says its proposal would require voters to approve any new redevelopment plans and city appropriations for “lease-purchase” agreements.

The Nevada Building and Construction Trades Council has come out against the union's filing. President Rick Johnson called the proposal a job-killing measure.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The holiday season is in full swing and law enforcement agencies want to make sure drunk drivers stay of the roads.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety and Stop DUI launched the Red Ribbon Campaign as part of National Drunk Driving Awareness Month.

Along Kyle Canyon Road, the ribbons will be placed at one mile increments to remind people not to drink and drive.

“Every one of those red ribbons you see symbolizes a life lost to a drunk driver, and it's also a stark reminder that we need to find one of the many alternative ways home after you've had anything to drink,” said Trooper Kevin Honea with the Nevada Department of Public Safety.

The Nevada DPS will also be holding many saturation patrols throughout the holiday season to protect innocent drivers from those who are impaired.