It's been called Blackout Wednesday, Black Wednesday and Drinksgiving.

It's the night before Thanksgiving, when people celebrate the four-day Thanksgiving holiday of feasting and shopping by toasting the season, renewed friendships, family or just that they're off Thursday.

Bar owners, bartenders and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics agree it's one of the busiest nights for drinking alcohol of the year, often surpassing New Year's Eve.

After all, all that awaits them the next day is a Thanksgiving feast, football and a comfy chair to curl up in.

“It's one of our biggest nights of the year, right up there with Game 7 of the Cubs World Series,” said Chad Kulavick, manager of Buddy & Pals in Crown Point.

“We get a nice mix of people, but there's a concentration of college kids back in town for the holiday,” Kulavick said. “They can sleep in the next day and roll out of bed.”

Cody Krilich, 24, of Lansing, Ill., was doing a DJ gig at Growlers on Highway in Highland one night last week. Krilich and his sister, Jesse Krilich, 28, also of Lansing, said they usually go out with family and friends on the night before Thanksgiving.

“We usually do a jukebox takeover, playing oldies like ‘The Lion Sleeps Tonight' and the Drifters, and maybe a little Christmas music,” Jesse Krilich said.

Cody Krilich said it will be a fairly early night for him.

“It's a dangerous night to be out,” he said.

According to NHTSA statistics, 410 people were killed on the highway over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday in 2013, the last year in which these statistics were available. Thirty-three percent of that number were alcohol-related deaths.

The same year, the NHTSA reported 366 traffic-related deaths over the four-day New Year's holiday, 44 percent of which were alcohol-related.

Shawn Ewing, general manager of Franklin House in Valparaiso, said the night before Thanksgiving is one of the bar's busiest four to five nights of the year.

“There are a lot of people home for the holidays and most don't have to work the next day. It seems like a good time to get together.”

Ewing said he sees a lot of young adults attending Indiana University in Bloomington and Purdue University in West Lafayette.

Like other general managers and bartenders contacted, Ewing also sees an influx of Uber drivers on Blackout Wednesday.

“More people are calling Uber to take them home,” Ewing said. “A few Uber drivers hang out here on those nights.”

It's not just college kids having a good time at the bars on Blackout Wednesday.

Caitlyn Rogers, a bartender at Northside Tap in Valparaiso, said while some college kids will come in, the bar attracts mainly an older clientele.

“I expect that night to be extremely busy at Northside. Families will be in town and they'll want a beer,” she said.

Myron Chapman, one of three owners of Growlers on Highway, said the crowd will get younger as the night wears on.

“They want to be with friends and have a good time,” Chapman said.

Local bars will offer specials for the crowds. Buddy & Pals in Schererville and Growlers on Highway both will have live DJs and drink specials.

Friends Ryan Brum, Dale Young and Andrew Orona are regulars at Growlers, and Brum said it's possible they'll be there on Blackout Wednesday too

“We come here as often as we can,” he said.

As for Cody Krilich, he said as he gets older, the fun of Blackout Wednesday begins to wear off.

“I have things to do on Thanksgiving Day and I have to see my grandma. Thanksgiving is the big day,” he said.

Karen Caffarini is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.