Come to the New Year’s party!

Glebe residents will once again enjoy the Lansdowne Park fireworks at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Many will be able to watch them from their porches or out on the road, but others will plan to head down the street beforehand to join the party.

The Scottish Society of Ottawa will use the Aberdeen Pavilion for the third year in a row to host “Hogman-eh!,” the New Year’s celebration that combines live music, dancing, food, drink and fun for everyone.

“When we moved Hogman-eh! to the Aberdeen Pavilion from its former location at City Hall, we discovered a great synergy with the local community,” says Alix MacGregor Williams, the event organizer. “It feels like a neighbourhood party, but over the course of the night, thousands of people come through our doors to have a good time.”

Part of the attraction is the price. It’s free.

Another is the cavalcade of entertainment and events that runs from 5 p.m. to midnight, including this year’s headline act, The Barra McNeils. This family band from Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia is among Canada’s foremost Celtic performers. They will have wound up their 2016 Christmas tour and be in Ottawa for Hogman-eh!

One of the big attractions of Hogman-eh! for many Glebe families is the annual tradition of celebrating the New Year’s countdown twice. The first countdown is at midnight in Scotland, 7 p.m. Ottawa time. That’s when the children’s programming, which includes face painters, magicians and LED-light performers, reaches a climax with a ring-in-the-new celebration that enables families to get the kids back home to bed afterwards. This leaves parents lots of time to accommodate their own New Year’s plans.

New Year’s Eve this year also marks the launch of the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday. Many events are planned downtown, including a fireworks display on Parliament Hill at 8:17 p.m. (20:17 hours). But for many Glebe residents, the option to bring the kids to an event just down the street is a more enticing alternative: no parking hassles or traffic congestion, and with the warmth of the Aberdeen Pavilion and the option to skate outside at the Lansdowne Park rink.

Mayor Jim Watson will use Hogman-eh! to proclaim January 2017 as Scottish month in Ottawa. Events over the following weeks will include the annual Robbie Burns supper and the third annual Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate. The Scottish Diaspora Tapestry will be on display in the Main Branch of the Ottawa Public Library throughout the month. Portions of the tapestry will be on view New Year’s Eve at the Horticulture Building across from the Aberdeen Pavilion.

While entrance to the Horticulture Building and Aberdeen Pavilion is free to everyone, anyone 19 years of age or older who wants to upgrade the New Year’s Eve experience can purchase a VIP package for $70. They will enjoy select seating, entrance to a special area where they can meet the musical performers, a complimentary coat check, cocktails and appetizers in the Milestones VIP Lounge, and various other items of swag that will make this a memorable night. More information can be obtained at www.ottscot.ca.

New Year’s in Scotland is a big deal. Over 300,000 people gathered in Edinburgh in 1996 and set the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest New Year’s party. Year by year, Ottawa’s Hogman-eh! draws more people. They come from across the city, but the event still feels very much rooted in the community where we live.

Don Cummer is a long-time resident of the Glebe and Old Ottawa South. He organizes Sir John A’s Great Canadian Kilt Skate for the Scottish Society of Ottawa.