With the end of the holiday season in sight, a number of seasonal events will be closing their doors throughout the week ending January 5, 2009, as compiled by TicketNews.
A perennial New York City favorite, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular, will hold its final 2008 performance at the famed music hall tonight, December 30. However, the touring production of the Christmas Spectacular still has a number of engagements in Austin and Houston through January 4. This was the first time in the show’s 76-year history that the production toured arenas and theatres nationwide.
Similarly, the Christmastime ballet classic The Nutcracker has been performed by various dance companies nationwide during the holiday season, and the last of those residencies will be wrapping this week. The final New York City performance will take place January 3 at the Lincoln Center, while the company at Orpheum Theatre in Phoenix will close the following day.
Would-be revelers scrambling to organize plans for New Year’s Eve have a last chance to grab tickets to some of this year’s hottest year-closing concert celebrations. Indie favorites My Morning Jacket are slated to perform at Madison Square Garden before the ball drops in Times Square. On the opposite coast, Deadheads can catch Phil Lesh and RatDog on stage at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco for December 30-31 shows.
Anyone hoping to kick off the New Year by taking in a game on the gridiron also has a last chance to purchase tickets to one of the annual college football bowl games. This year’s Rose Bowl features the Penn State Nittany Lions in a showdown with the USC Trojans in Pasadena, CA. Tickets are also available to the annual Rose Parade, which will hit the streets of Pasadena first thing on the morning of January 1. Meanwhile, the Virginia Tech Hokies and Cincinnati Bearcats will go head-to-head in the Orange Bowl at Dolphin Stadium in Miami, FL.
“Last Chance” information is compiled at the beginning of the week, based on touring acts whose current itineraries are closing over the course of that week. The availability of tickets for Last Chance events depends on primary and secondary seller inventory, and may vary as tickets are sold in the days leading up to each event.
THIS WEEK’S LAST CHANCE EVENTS
| Last Event Date | Event |
| December 30 | Holiday Bowl: Oklahoma State Cowboys |
| December 30 | Texas Bowl: Rice Owls |
| December 31 | Sun Bowl: Oregon State Beavers |
| December 31 | Music City Bowl: Vanderbilt Commodores |
| December 31 | Insight Bowl: Kansas Jayhawks |
| December 31 | Phil Lesh |
| December 31 | Chick-fil-A Bowl: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets |
| December 31 | Widespread Panic |
| December 31 | My Morning Jacket |
| December 31 | Jim Gaffigan |
| January 1 | Rose Parade |
| January 1 | Outback Bowl: Iowa Hawkeyes |
| January 1 | Winter Classic: Chicago Blackhawks |
| January 1 | Gator Bowl: Clemson Tigers |
| January 1 | Capital One Bowl: Michigan State Spartans |
| January 1 | Rose Bowl: Penn State Nittany Lions |
| January 1 | Orange Bowl: Virginia Tech Hokies |
| January 2 | Cotton Bowl: Mississippi Rebels |
| January 2 | Autozone Liberty Bowl: East Carolina Pirates |
| January 2 | Sugar Bowl: Alabama Crimson Tide |
| January 3 | NFC Wild Card Playoffs: Arizona Cardinals |
| January 3 | AFC Wild Card Playoffs: San Diego Chargers |
| January 4 | The Nutcracker |
| January 4 | AFC Wild Card Playoffs: Miami Dolphins |
| January 4 | A Christmas Carol |
| January 4 | NFC Wild Card Playoffs: Minnesota Vikings |
| January 4 | Cirque du Soleil – Wintuk |
| January 4 | Jonas Brothers |
| January 4 | Radio City Christmas Spectacular |
| January 4 | Trans-Siberian Orchestra |
| January 5 | Fiesta Bowl Parking |
| January 5 | Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State Buckeyes |
