By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
As the clock strikes midnight next Wednesday, the world will turn the page on 2025 into 2026. The Wolf Hotel in Ellinwood is a few years behind. About 100 to be exact. On New Year’s Eve, the historic hotel is hosting Roaring into 1926: A Speakeasy Soiree.
With just 64 seats available, tickets to the all-night event are $125. Proceeds benefit the Ellinwood Underground City Foundation and help keep history alive for future generations.
The fun begins at 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 as guests arrive at the historic Bank of Ellinwood, located at the Wolf Hotel. Live dance music, cocktail tables, and roaming trays of appetizers will greet guests. A brief introduction from the night’s emcee will follow at 7:15, then the music and intrigue take over.
An interactive dinner theater, with Prohibition in effect, will take place from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. A Prohibition-inspired feast will include Waldorf salad, asparagus soup, bourbon-glazed ham with German potato salad and baked stuffed tomatoes, and pineapple upside down cake for desert. A dinner wine will also be served.
Guests with the proper credentials will be allowed to enter The Underground Saloon for the night’s big finale from 10:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. A speakeasy password will be sent with a formal invitation, and the saloon will feature more live music and drinks. Buyers beware: it’s still Prohibition.
The drink menu for New Year’s Eve will feature classics from the era, including: Old Fashions, Bee’s Knees, Gin Rickey, wine, and champagne for the late-night toast as the New Year arrives.
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