A New Year’s Eve (Virtual) Roundup

by Noella Noelophile®

Is it really New Year’s Eve?  How quickly the years rush by.

First and foremost, a virtual hug to you and your family.  2020 has been an unprecedented challenge.  Take care and be safe, tonight and every night.

With that said, here are some virtual celebrations you and your family might like.

First, the Aquarium of the Pacific hosts its “Noon Year’s Eve” celebration today for families.  You can create a fish party hat, meet one of their “animal ambassadors” and show off your best moves with the Pacific Pals puppets in a dance celebration!  Admission is $5 per participant, and “Noon Year’s Eve” runs from 11;15 am to noon on Zoom.  Here’s the link for information.

And as a heads-up: have your craft supplies ready to get creative with those party hats!  In addition, take a look at the above link for the Aquarium’s free resources.  They offer both a custom Zoom “Noon Year’s Eve” background, and a coloring sheet to download, featuring Aquarium residents.

Let’s not forget the Bay Area in this.

Bay Area Discovery Museum is offering a free “Noon Year’s Eve Pajama Party”!  This starts at 11:30 am, Pacific time, today, Thursday, December 31, and lasts for 45 minutes.  They’ll have a “pajama fashion show”, music, dancing and, of course, a countdown at 12 noon.  Here’s the link for information.

Meanwhile, if you love live arts celebrations (who doesn’t?), First Night Monterey would like to invite you to celebrate with them–virtually, of course!  They’re hosting a free Virtual Celebration of the Arts, starting at 3:00 Pacific time, this afternoon and continuing until midnight.

And looking at the schedule on their website, they truly have something for everyone.  Teaming up with other First Night organizations, they’ve created a program that includes taiko drumming, ballet, storytelling, crafts, and a highly eclectic evening program.  A quick glance at their evening schedule reveals Monterey Jazz Festival musicians, Celtic Pub-Rock, bluegrass and indie rock as just four of the scheduled performances.  You’re encouraged to subscribe to their YouTube channel to watch the festivities.

Now, I’d planned to finish this with a listing of where you can see fireworks, livestreamed, here in California.

But I changed my mind.

How would you like, instead, to go to Scotland, virtually?

You will get goosebumps if you check out Edinburgh’s “Hogmanay”, which is a free three-part film series for the New Year.   Due to the pandemic, this yearly festival is, for the first time, an all-digital program, according to the Edinburgh Hogmanay website.

Themed “Farewell”, the first installment of the show went live on Tuesday, December 29th.  “Beautiful” and “moving” barely describe the work, with narration over breathtaking scenes of Scotland.  Drones, flying in formation,  convey messages of hope, in what the website notes as “the largest swarm drone ever in the UK”.

There’s a “Torchlight Moment” segment yet to come, honoring Scotland’s healthcare workers and staff for their work in 2020.  This is going to be absolutely breathtaking, and fireworks are listed as part of the presentation.

In addition, Part Three of the “Farewell” film series will, in all probability, be going live today.  I don’t see a specific time listed, but previous installments have become available at 7 pm on the Edinburgh Hogmanay website. Meanwhile, you can see Parts One and Two at this link.

Take care, and have a safe, healthy New Year’s Eve and a better 2021.