New Year’s Eve Options

Ventura County’s club and restaurant scene is sure to be bustling next Thursday as revelers celebrate the dawning of 1993. If you prefer something other than club hopping, here are some options:

* The Ventura County Master Chorale’s New Year’s Eve gala “Midnight Rhapsody” will be held at the Bill Esty Community Center, 3701 E. Las Posas Road, Camarillo. The evening begins at 7:30 with a cocktail hour, followed by a multi-course gourmet dinner at 8:30. The Social Climbers band will play a wide range of music for dancers, while a singing-dancing ensemble performs a stage revue featuring the music of George Gershwin. The evening, a major fund-raiser for the chorale, continues to 1 a.m. Wine and a champagne toast included.

Tickets are $75 per person, $500 per table of eight. Reservations must be made before noon Monday. For more information or reservations, call 653-7282 or 654-6459.

* Wheeler Hot Springs will hold its seventh annual New Year’s Eve Dinner Party. The evening features a performance by the Jeff Elliott Quintet and a five-course gourmet meal. Dinner will be served from 7 to 10 p.m. The band will begin playing at 9, with dance sets scheduled from 10 to 1 a.m.

Patrons have the option of using a van service, for a fee, to and from the restaurant anywhere in the Ojai Valley. Dinner, show and champagne toast is $85 per person. Wheeler Hot Springs is at 16825 Maricopa Highway, above Ojai. For more information call 646-8131 or (800) 227-9292.

* The Magnificent Moorpark Melodrama and Vaudeville Co. premieres its new production “Newscast Murder” during a New Year’s Eve dinner-show celebration. The doors will open at 7 with a catered buffet. The musical comedy--a whodunit about the murder of a ruthless newscaster--commences at 8:30. Appetizers and dessert buffets will be served during intermissions. Champagne toast, hats, streamers and noisemakers included.

Tickets are $55 per person. The theater is at 45 E. High St. For more information or reservations, call 529-1212 or (800) 597-1210.

* Plaza Players Theater will inaugurate its new production, “Lettice and Lovage,” with a New Year’s Eve gala. Festivities begin at 8 with champagne and hors d’oeuvres, with Peter Shaffer’s comedic treatment starting at 9 p.m. The theater is at 34 N. Palm St., Ventura. Tickets are $25 and may be reserved by calling 653-2378.

* Soroptimist International of the Conejo and the Kiwanis Club of Thousand Oaks ring in the New Year with the fund-raising “Putting on the Glitz II” party at the Fitzgerald Center in Thousand Oaks. The black-tie event commences at 8 p.m. and features dancing, entertainment, casino activities, refreshments and hors d’oeuvres. Proceeds will benefit the Thousand Oaks Senior Concerns and local charities. Tickets are $50 per person.

The center is at 401 Hodencamp Drive. For more information, call 496-1826 or 492-4806.

* Faye Renee Dinner Theatre at Ottavio’s Banquet Facilities in Camarillo presents a New Year’s Eve “1992 Gala Celebration.” The evening begins at 7 with a no-host bar. A four-course dinner will be served at 7:45 p.m. and “Thurber Carnival,” a reader’s theater presentation of works by James Thurber, begins at 9:15. The evening includes live music, dancing, champagne toast and noisemakers.

Ottavio’s is at 340 N. Mobil Ave. Tickets are $75 per person. For more information or reservations, call 484-9909.

* Oxnard’s Radisson Suite Hotel will feature veteran jazz artist Joe Vento and his big band for an evening of eating, dancing and New Year’s revelry. A buffet will be served from 7 to 9:30; dancing commences at 9 and continues till 1:30 a.m. Party favors, midnight balloon drop and champagne toast included. Tickets are $113 per couple. Overnight suite packages, which include festivities, start at $189 per couple. Reservations are needed. The hotel is at 2101 W. Vineyard Ave. Call 988-0130.

* Ventura’s Holiday Inn will offer two separate overnight party packages. The Top of the Harbor restaurant features a gourmet dinner, the 13-piece Chuck Woods Orchestra, cocktails, champagne, room and breakfast for $285 per couple. Dinner and evening festivities only, $220 per couple. Top 40 band The Bumps will perform in the ballroom. This package includes buffet dinner, cocktails, champagne, room and breakfast for $255. Dinner and evening festivities only, $185 per couple. Dinner for each party will be served from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. with festivities beginning at 9. Call 648-7731.

* Ventura Concert Theatre, 26 S. Chestnut St., presents a New Year’s Dancing Eve with The Gap Band, featuring Charlie Wilson. The concert, which includes party favors and champagne toast, starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $20. Dinner reservations also accepted. Call 648-1888.

* Hornblower’s, 1559 Spinnaker Drive, Ventura, hosts an evening of dinner, comedy and live music to welcome the New Year. Dinner starts at 6 p.m., comedian Marc Gardner takes the stage at 9 p.m. and Chip Jones & The Rhythm Rockers kick off at about 10:30. Party favors and champagne toast included. Tickets are $45 per person. Call 650-4367.