New Year’s Eve in the Hamptons

Nightlife in the Hamptons in the winter is nearly diametrically opposite the summertime expericence. Much of the fabulous and famous crowd has either returned to its Manhattan enclave or is off chasing the sun closer to the equator – leaving locals mostly to themselves. The nightspots that do stay open between November and May tend to end up seeing mostly low-key happenings.

That doesn’t mean the East End doesn’t know how to party year-round, and come New Year’s Eve both the community and those visiting from “up-island” (the term used frequently in the Hamptons to describe Long Island west of Westhampton) can find some events that are quite crowded and all-around summer-ish in scope. Here are three worthy of consideration for welcoming 2012: