New Year celebrations abound in Iowa City

This has, for many of us, has been a long, troubling, frustrating year.

There’s been near-universal grief and heartache as one after another, beloved cultural icons passed away: David Bowie and Alan Rickman nearly back-to-back in January, Umberto Eco and Harper Lee in February, Phife Dawg in March, Prince in April, Morley Safer in May, Muhammad Ali in June, Elie Wiesel in July, University of Iowa alum Gene Wilder in August, Edward Albee in September, Steve Dillon in October, Leonard Cohen and Robert Vaughn and Florence Henderson and Ron Glass and Sharon Jones all just last month. Those are just a scattered sampling; they, along with countless others over the course of the year, inspired the phrase that feels like this year’s unofficial motto: the less-print-friendly version of “screw you, 2016.”

There’s been fear and dismay and anger following a deeply confusing and vitriolic presidential election cycle that exposed a dark underbelly in our country, and gave courage and voice to an element in our society that we thought we had evolved past. A spike in hate crimes, racially-charged vandalism and demands that citizens of color “go back to [their] country” have led many in our community and beyond to feel unsafe and unwelcome. Racist and neo-Nazi groups have rallied in support of president-elect Donald Trump, as he continues to name cabinet members with troubling histories and associations. It’s enough to make all of those influential deaths feel like a sort of cultural rapture — an exodus of greatness before the dark times hit.

Are you depressed yet? Angry? Despairing? Good. Because I’m about to bring it back around.

It’s almost over! We’re just a few short weeks from bidding farewell to this dumpster fire of a year. Fin. Kaput. The end. Donzo. Eighty-sixed. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out, 2016. This is an ex-year. All that’s left to do is to dance on its ashes.

Which, of course, is where New Year’s Eve comes in! There are many opportunities across eastern Iowa to ring out the old, ring in the new, but I wanted to highlight some of the less conventional events — because I have a feeling that the old, conventional methods will not be sufficient to get the bad taste of this year out of our mouths. With that goal in mind, here are five spectacular ways to consider spending your Dec. 31.

Prairiewoods hosts regular sweat lodge ceremonies in the Lakota tradition throughout the year, but this one at the cusp of a new year carries extra weight. “We have asked for this special inipi ceremony on New Year’s Eve day to invite healing and humility into our new year,” program coordinator Rodney Bluml said in an email, “especially at Prairiewoods, as we strive to protect the land, and to pray good energy for the Water Protectors at Standing Rock, among other things and peoples.”

If your goal is to put the toxicity of 2016 behind you, a sweat is a great place to start. “When water, m’ni, is poured on the stones, it becomes life medicine (pejuta wiconi), drawing us back to our essence in connection with all creation,” Bluml said.

In addition to pouring water on the heated stones, the ceremony involves four rounds including singing sacred songs. A light potluck meal is shared afterward. Space is limited; you can register here. Full rules and instructions are available at the event’s Facebook page.

Send off a year that has seemed as farcical and ludicrous as it was depressing by joining in a reading of one of Shakespeare’s most zany comedies. Twelfth Night is a raucous homage to the now-classic tropes of cross-dressing and mistaken identities. Twins Viola and Sebastian are separated in a shipwreck and, as was necessary at the time (fingers crossed it won’t become so again!), Viola dresses as a man to make her way in the new society where she finds herself stranded.

The fun of participating in these readings is that they are as storm-tossed and full of confusion as the play itself. You won’t just read one role; chances are, at one point or another, you’ll read every role. Some speeches are read in unison, others read round robin line-by-line and still others read in whatever silly accent you can muster up on a whim. No theatre experience needed — just a willingness to play!

Prefer your theatrical action with food in hand? CR Mystery Dinners serves up a murder mystery set at the opening extravaganza of the Four Deuces speakeasy. This marks the one-year anniversary of founder Jen Walser’s first public murder mystery event; this year, they’re running two events in different rooms at Butcher Block to accommodate demand.

The ticket price includes unlimited appetizers and two drink tickets. This is an interactive, conversation-based game; attendees receive a packet with information about their character, and are encouraged to participate as little or as much as they want (up to and including dressing up as their character). Chat with the other guests to attempt to solve the murder that will happen sometime in the night.

If it feels like you just won’t be able to shake the misery of 2016 of your own volition, perhaps a hypnotist can help! DougT started studying hypnosis after several years as a stand-up comedian, as part of his quest to build a better show. He’s a fixture of the college and corporate worlds, and has toured with the likes of Pauly Shore and the Impractical Jokers. The late show on New Year’s Eve includes party favors, a midnight champagne toast and a breakfast buffet afterward. Both shows are 21+ with a two-drink minimum.

Even though it’s really 2016 that should be hiding its face, a masquerade is a great way to reinvent yourself for the year ahead. The Mill is offering that chance! Presented by Little Village Mag, Flyover Fashion Fest and The Mill, the event features music by The Rapperchicks with Dj Johnny Sixx. The Rapperchicks include Psalm One and Angelenah, familiar faces now at that venue after bringing down the house twice already this year during Mission Creek and Witching Hour. Tickets are $5 if you arrive in a mask of your own. If you arrive maskless, one will be provided, bumping your entry cost to $10.

Genevieve Trainor is a lifelong fan of rituals of re-beginning. This article was originally published in Little Village issue 211.