Here’s a preview of local celebrations as 2012 washes over Las Vegas

Flip for the Strip and sample the treat on Fremont Street.

Let the entertainment flow on local hotel stages. Celebrate early at the library.

And remember to glance skyward at midnight -- those fireworks lighting the night can rival the brightest neon Las Vegas has to offer.

Consider this party-planning advice as Las Vegas rolls out the revelry Saturday for New Year's Eve.

Modestly described as "the ultimate street party," the fourth annual "TributePalooza" returns to Fremont Street from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. featuring a dozen tribute bands (which also will perform Friday and Sunday as well) in a show reserved for celebrants 21 and older.

Also scheduled: a 2011 year-in-review retrospective on the Viva Vision screen, a midnight countdown led by Mayor Carolyn Goodman and a Grucci fireworks display -- adding to the traditional plethora of displays from Strip hotels -- synchronized with virtual fireworks on Viva Vision.

Fremont Street Experience President Jeff Victor said he expects crowds to reach nearly 30,000 partyers for "TributePalooza," with concerts taking place on the Main Street, First Street and Third Street stages.

Among the performers, Los Angeles-based Steel Panther is a glam-metal band noted for humorous lyrics peppered with profanity (hence the age restriction). Rock Sugar, also out of L.A., specializes in mash-ups of pop music and 1980s hair metal.

Other groups pay direct tribute to rock legends: Wanted (Bon Jovi), L.A.vation (U2), Fan Halen (Van Halen), Blasphemous Rumors (Depeche Mode), No-Duh (No Doubt and Gwen Stefani), Inxsive (Michael Hutchence), Rolling the Stones (Rolling Stones), Led Zepagain (Led Zeppelin), Red Not Chili Peppers (Red Hot Chili Peppers) and Bonfire (AC/DC).

Tickets to the event on New Year's Eve -- the only one all year on Fremont Street charging admission -- are $30 per person. Concerts are free Friday and Sunday. (Call 386-8100 or visit www.vegasexperience.com/newyearseve.)

Marqueewise? The street party for the fireworks gradually heralded the end of the era of New Year's headliners, but a few casinos refuse to let old acquaintance be forgot.

With the end of "Desperate Housewives" in sight, the rekindled Riviera gives Vanessa Williams a place to sing again in its special events center, the Royal Pavilion. The show starts at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $82.50, $110 and $170.50. (Call 794-9433 or visit www.rivierahotel.com.)

Those who don't want to venture from the 'burbs have a few options, too. The original Cannery hosts an original-enough Little Anthony and The Imperials show, with its founder, Anthony Gourdine, still at the helm. With a 10:30 p.m. start, that one does ring in the new year. Tickets are $49.95. (Call 507-5757 or visit www.cannerycasino.com.)

And nothing says party like "Brick House." R&B greats the Commodores keep you busy before midnight with an 8:30 p.m. show in the Eastside Cannery Events Center. Tickets are $64.95, $74.95 and $84.95. (Call 856-5470 or visit www.eastsidecannery.com.)

The South Point works in two shifts. For those who fade early, the Las Vegas Tenors are featured in a "New Year's at Noon" ballroom celebration. Tickets are $25. But you have to wait for the Big O, Tony Orlando, starring in an old-fashioned bash complete with dinner and an open bar. Tickets are $75. (For both shows, call 797-8055 or visit www.southpointcasino.com.)

The club/show venues at all Station Casinos will be in full tilt, too, with perennial favorites. Yellow Brick Road holds court at Boulder Station. Tickets are $24.95 if purchased today, $34.95 on Saturday. (Call 432-7777 or visit www.boulderstation.com.) And DJ Hyphy Crunk mans the turntables at Green Valley Ranch. Tickets are $75 in advance, $100 on Saturday. (Call 617-7777 or visit www.greenvalleyranchresort.com.)

Remember that prices for all hotel events may come with additional fees and taxes.

Smile, Vegas, you're on Candid New Year's Camera as the Fox network -- locally, that's KVVU-TV, Channel 5 -- broadcasts "American Country New Year's Eve Live" from Mandalay Bay Beach, as well as the Times Square ball drop in Manhattan. It will be broadcast live to the East Coast from 8 to 9:30 p.m. local time, then air tape-delayed in Las Vegas from 11 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.

Ex-"American Idol" singer Lauren Alaina will perform, as well as Joe Nichols and Rodney Atkins in the show hosted by Rodney Carrington and "Pawn Stars' " Rick Harrison and Austin "Chumlee" Russell.

On the hyper-local front, Opportunity Village's Magical Forest holiday attraction will include "Times Square West" with entertainment and -- because it closes at 10 p.m. -- a countdown to 9 p.m., which is midnight on the East Coast. Tickets are $9.75 for ages 13 and older, $7.75 for ages 3-12 and free for children 2 and under. (Call 259-3700 or visit www. opportunityvillage.org.)

Children can take in New Year's Eve before the "eve" part. At both the Whitney and Spring Valley libraries, kids 11 and younger can ring in 2012 with stories, songs, crafts and a countdown to 12 o'clock -- as in noon. And it's all free. (Call 507-4010 for the Whitney Library and 507-3820 for the Spring Valley Library, or visit www.lvccld.org.)

Finally, New Year's Eve minus fireworks would be like Christmas without a tree. To avoid that grinchy scenario, the aforementioned display at Fremont Street's "TributePalooza" will be joined by the traditional blast of night sky rockets from major hotels.

The Tropicana joins the fireworks club this year, pushing to eight the number of casino rooftops launching an eight-minute synchronized fireworks display along the Strip. From south to north, the casinos to watch are the Tropicana, MGM Grand, Aria, Planet Hollywood Resort, Caesars Palace, The Venetian, Treasure Island and the Stratosphere.

Far from the Strip, the MonteLago Village at Lake Las Vegas offers a more modest midnight round of fireworks.

Hasta la vista, 2011.

Come on in, 2012.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288. Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.