Excellent post. OP I feel like your title does a slight disservice to the message; it's great to support a neighborhood restaurant or bar, but this advice isn't about charity to others, it's about looking after yourself. These events (I have also been to multiple (shame on me)) can be really frustrating as an attendee.

That said, many people have a good time at them, especially if you know in advance what you're signing up for and have reasonable expectations, or if you are the type of person who has other people wait in drink lines for you. It's not impossible to have fun at one of these galas, but just know that it is not the glamorous, full-service experience you would expect from the price and marketing. The drink lines especially are genuinely unconscionable and will eat up a huge chunk of your night if you actually want to get a good buzz going on NYE. But if you can deal with that, there will be many young attractive people drinking and dancing in fancy clothes and maybe that's all you need from your night, no judgment.