NYE | Bash With A Splash!
- John-Michael Scurio
- Dec 22, 2025
- 5 min read
There are nights in Eureka Springs when the town doesn’t just celebrate ... it glows.
New Year’s Eve is one of those nights, and downtown becomes its own living, breathing little universe: music bouncing off the stone walls, laughter spilling out of warm doorways, winter air crisp enough to make every sparkle look intentional … and that unmistakable sense that you’re standing in a place where people still believe a community can gather in the middle of the street and count down together like it matters (because it does).
That’s the heart of Bash with a Splash. This is Eureka Springs’ big, free, family-friendly New Year’s Eve celebration centered around Basin Spring Park and Spring Street.
Bash with a Splash is built around a simple, very Eureka idea: Water built this town . . . so let’s ring in the year with water. (and light, music, and a whole lot of joyful chaos, of course.)
This annual New Year’s Eve event happens on the infamous day, which this year is smack dab in the middle of the week on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, with festivities leading into midnight as we welcome 2026.
Typically, as it happens, partygoers arrive just as darkness settles into the hills. You can smell food drifting toward Basin Spring Park. A couple walks by in sequins under a winter coat. Someone else is dressed as something you can’t quite identify ... possibly an elf or possibly a disco goblin, or possibly both. The shops downtown are still open later than usual, glowing like little lanterns along the sidewalks. And then, almost without warning, the whole evening vibe starts moving and then, just like that, a party is ON!
When the music starts and the laser show lights up the sky, the night crescendos into a full-blown block party right downtown inside Basin Spring Park.
Eureka's New Year’s Eve celebration turns downtown into a high-energy, walkable entertainment district, especially along Spring Street and, most certainly, inside Basin Spring Park, which is right in the heart of downtown Eureka Springs.
Here are some of the official event programming highlights:
Carnival-style parade at 8:30 PM, winding through downtown and pulling everyone toward the center of the party.
Live music at Basin Spring Park, including:
Jenna & The Soul Shakers at 9:00 PM
Fossils of Ancient Robots at 11:00 PM
FloZark Fire Twirlers at 9:45 PM
MelonLight surprise flash mob at 10:30 PM (because this town cannot resist a delightfully unexpected group moment).
Laser light show helping turn the last minutes of the year into something cinematic.
And then: the "Iconic Water Drop" happens just off the Basin Park Hotel welcoming 2026 at midnight. This is the signature Eureka Springs countdown moment.
The Water Drop
If you’ve never seen it, here’s the simplest way to explain it: At midnight, everyone gathers at Basin Spring Park, the symbolic heart of town, and the countdown culminates in a glowing water droplet descending from the top of the Basin Park Hotel into the Ozarka water bucket ... a nod to Eureka Springs as “the city that water built.”
It’s quirky. It’s proud. It’s unmistakably local.
Downtown shops and restaurants stay open later, and you’ll find plenty of warm places to duck into between outdoor moments, plus pubs, bars and lounges (most all have live music) that keep the celebration rolling after midnight.
Other happenings in Eureka Springs on 12-31-2025 include:
(Please note: some of the following events require tickets so please check with the venue for ticket information.)
PORTAL at Intrigue Theater (magic show) (6:00–9:00 PM)
Welcome to the Hop – New Year’s Eve Party at Inn of the Ozarks Convention Center (7:00 PM–1:00 AM)
NYE Goblin Ball at Chelsea’s (7:00 PM–1:00 AM)
Pretty in Pink Prom Party – NYE 2025 at Missy’s White Rabbit Lounge (7:00 PM–1:00 AM) Local Tip: Missy's White Rabbit Lounge is where the locals love to party.
NYE Goblin Ball at Chelsea’s (7:00 PM–2:00 AM) Local Tip: Chelsea's is where the locals love to party after throwing down at Missy's White Rabbit Lounge.
Nate Turner & The Justified at The Quarter on Spring (8:30 PM–12:30 AM)
Crescent Hotel NYE Dinner & Celebration (8:30 PM–12:30 AM; ticketed)
Pete, Dave & Kara at New Delhi (9:00 PM–1:00 AM)
New Years Bash with Live Music at Cathouse Lounge (9:00 PM onward)
That’s the beauty of doing New Year’s Eve here: there's so much happening that you have decent options to make it your night.
Want elegant? Start with dinner and a celebration package. Want loud? Find your band. Want whimsical? There’s a goblin ball. Want weird in the best way? Just walk downtown and follow the sounds of celebration and delight.
Parking, road closures, and trolley options
This is the part where I gently take your hand and say: do not wing parking on New Year’s Eve in Eureka Springs. Not planning this important task might impact your ability to stay joyful and vibe. Local Tip: The best decision you could make is to use Eureka Springs Transit is offering free Park-and-Ride service on New Year’s Eve from 7:00 PM to 12:30 AM, shuttling from satellite pickup lots to the Downtown Trolley Depot, giving you and yours just a short walk to Basin Spring Park.
Here are the published Park-and-Ride satellite pickup lots:
Transit Welcome Center (137 W Van Buren)
Pine Mountain Village (Village Circle)
ES&NA Railway (299 N Main St.)
Planer Hill (177 S Main St.)
Gotahold Brewing (409 W Van Buren)
If you prefer to arrive calm, warm, and already feeling like you made a smart decision -- this is your best plan.
Why you should go?
In my personal opinion, Eureka Springs does New Year’s Eve in a way that feels … human. It isn’t just a bar night. It isn’t just fireworks in the distance. It’s the town saying: “Come closer. Celebrate with us. Start the year in the center of a community that always feels like the best is yet to come.”
You can bring your kids. You can bring your best friend. You can come alone and still somehow end up feeling like you were part of something unique and something shared. Hey, let's face it, when a whole town gathers around the very spring that made the place famous in the first place, you don’t stay a stranger for long.
So yes: go to Bash with a Splash.
Wear shoes you can walk in. Bring a warm layer that still lets you dance. Take the trolley. Say yes to the parade and be sure to save your loudest cheer for the countdown seconds before the stroke of midnight.
I wish each of you the very best in 2026. Come visit us here in Eureka Springs, Arkansas and give you and yours the experience of ringing in the New Year in such a unique way ... the way it all should organically happen in a close-knit mountain community of flowing springs and freakin' Eurekans...
...with a splash! ❤️
