(credit: CBS 11 News)

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – The countdown is on to 2013, and the stages are set for Big D NYE!

The free New Year’s Eve celebration, held in Downtown Dallas’ Victory Plaza, kicks off at 7 p.m. and ends at 1 a.m., and will be simulcast inside the American Airlines Center.

Big D NYE is billed at the largest New Year’s Eve celebration in the Central Time Zone, with more than 35,000 people ringing in 2012 at last year’s event.

Organizers say because there is no hockey game tonight,  there will be plenty of parking. DART trains will also run every 30 minutes until 2 a.m.

Breaking Southwest, DJ Ro Parrish, Pentatonix, LEOGUN, and Forever The Sickest Kids are among the musical acts set to perform.  The festivities will be capped off with a fireworks show, featuring  pyrotechnics shot into the night sky from four different buildings.

For more information about tonight’s event, visit the Big D NYE website.

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