Downtown's Fairhope Avenue closed at 1:30 p.m. today as city workers began preparing for the city's annual New Year's Eve celebration.

The city blocks off a city block and sets up a bandstand at the corner of Fairhope Avenue and Church Street, where music begins at 8:30 p.m. with the band Destiny. Church groups and other residents rent tents along the street to escape the weather as they await the New Year's arrival.

The event is free. Many downtown shops and restaurants stay open late for the partiers.