Parties get 2020 off to a rip-roaring start in Clark County

Are you ready to roar some more? We’re about to update the Roaring ’20s.

Version one earned that noisy nickname thanks to unprecedented economic prosperity, technological progress and chaotic cultural change.

Charles Lindbergh conquered the sky, Charlie Chaplain conquered the still-silent screen, and Babe Ruth conquered the baseball diamond. Few Americans seemed to care that alcohol prohibition was the law of the land. Postwar “normalcy” was President Warren G. Harding’s platform. In the 1920s, gangster Al Capone wreaked havoc in Chicago streets, dancer Josephine Baker heated up Broadway and trumpeter Louis Armstrong blasted out a wild new style of music called jazz.

Or, if you prefer, jass. That’s the pre-standardized spelling favored by maestro Sammuel Murry-Hawkins of Vancouver’s Ne Plus Ultra Jass Orchestra, an authentically old-timey big band that will conquer the Jack London Revue, Portland’s premiere jazz nightclub, on New Year’s Eve.

The Ne Plus Ultra (which means “there’s no greater,” that is, the best!) Orchestra draws on authentic “sweet and hot” scores of the 1920s (and 1930s) and bandleader Murry-Hawkins’ charmingly pomade-and-tuxedo persona to deliver lush, swinging orchestral arrangements that would have gotten your grandparents Lindy-hopping around the ballroom.

“This was a golden age for elegance across the globe,” Murry-Hawkins said. “Without television and Netflix, live entertainment was at its height, and attending dance orchestra performances was an event to dress for. Gentlemen attired in wool tailcoats, white pique ties and waistcoats, and silk top hats. Ladies dressed in gloves and furs.

“Radio was introducing this new, liberal musical form to audiences,” he said. “The 1920s saw a generation embarking on new horizons.”

Early roars

Here in Clark County, several community centers, bars and restaurants are also hosting Roaring ’20s-themed events — although none will feature live, authentic 1920s sounds. If you’re interested in dolling up like a flapper or a fella but would still rather groove to today’s tunes, there are plenty of local options.

And, if you want to party like it’s 2020 but would rather not stay up through midnight, check our listings for events keyed to the ball drop in New York City’s time zone, 9 p.m. our time. Weary parents of young children should consider the Camas Public Library’s Monday and Tuesday “Noon Year’s Eve” lunchtime dance parties for kiddies and their folks. Those youthful affairs get just as noisy and boisterous as any champagne-toast blowout, but you’ll get home during daylight, safe and sober — with ears undoubtedly Roaring.