Ring in 2022 with Midnight on Main

Most people would agree: it's time for this year to be in the past. 

Finally, it’s time to ring in 2022, and Midland’s biggest New Year's Eve party takes place at Dow Diamond. Midnight on Main transforms the baseball stadium into a nightclub complete with dancing, DJs, live music, food and games. 

Selina Tisdale, community affairs director for the City of Midland, says the annual event did not take place last year, due to health and safety concerns. 

“This is the tenth year putting on Midnight on Main,” she says. “We started in 2011, outdoors on Main Street, until 2013. Then we moved in 2014 to the East side. That was the last year for an outdoor event, as it got to be very laborious at that time of the year and unpredictable with the weather.”

“Dress up, come out, and have fun."In 2015, Midland invited a new partner, Sound Productions, to take over organizing and assembling the annual party with its location at Dow Diamond. Sound Productions Entertainment President Jim Paetschow, says transforming the baseball diamond to party central typically takes a week. 

“It’s just a high-end nightclub basically, all over the concourse,” he says. “There are places to sit, food to eat, and a lot of different things to do, like cornhole. It’s such a big area that we can do a lot with it.”

The VIP section includes a private DJ upstairs to 200 guests, located on the suite level, featuring food and drink for $150. The event usually draws around 1,500 people each year. 

“Dress up, come out, and have fun,” Paetschow says. “It’s a nice, classy event. It’s warm, it’s 70 degrees, so you can come and take your coat off, hang out, and have fun.”

Tisdale adds that the last time the party was held outside, it was terribly cold. 

“That was the advantage of bringing it inside,” she says. “You can just come casually dressed in your flannel and jeans, or get out that little black party dress, and enjoy a night dressed up for the evening. You can’t do that outside.”

General admission tickets are $35. VIP tickets, which include food, a champagne toast, and an exclusive dance floor, are $150.Partygoers can watch the University of Michigan football game on jumbo 10- and 20-feet screens, enjoy live music from Jedi Mind Trip, and watch Michigan’s largest ball drop, followed by a fireworks show. Tickets for the 21+ event can be purchased online or at the door, though VIP usually sells out before, according to Paetschow. 

General admission tickets are $35 and include entertainment, multiple bars and concessions access (food and drink not included), viewing of the ball drop and fireworks. 

VIP tickets are $150 and include all GA items as well as access to the upper-level VIP lounge, private bar, private dance floor with DJ, New Year’s Eve bar package, champagne toast, appetizers, dinner, and dessert. 

Tickets can be purchased online. Local hotel packages from The H Hotel, Sleep Inn, Baymont Hotel, and Holiday Inn also include overnight accommodations, shuttles, and more.