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Hogmanay 2008 - Glasgow Highlights

Source: The List (Issue 619)
Date: 11 December 2008

If the live gigs from Idlewild, Bleachie and Paolo Nutini don’t grab you, we’ve got some other suggestions for how to get your Hogmanay kicks around town.

Glasgow racks up its cool points (and not just the temperature ones) with Glasgow On Ice in George Square. Don your newly acquired knitted garments from granny and head out to the ice rink to burn off any Christmas pudding bulge. Tickets cost £5-£6 and remember to head along the night afore the night afore though, as it’s closed on new year’s eve and new year’s day.

Or, if all those double toe loops and axel jumps sound a little too Torvill and Dean, why not relax with some retail therapy at the Continental Festive Market in George Square where mulled wine, German sausage and gingerbread are all on offer, and face painting and ice sculptures can also be found.

If the weans are driving you round the bend with their non-stop Wii playing and you fear for their grip on reality, why not take yourself and them for some true loop-the-loop gut-churning fun at the Irn Bru Carnival. Running from Friday 19 December – Sunday 11 January, Europe’s biggest indoor funfair returns once again to the SECC. This year’s carnival will include more than 60 rides and stalls, suitable for kids (and adults) of all ages. It stays open until 9pm on the night afore, and, as if you’ve not got enough spinny-head to deal with on 1 January, the rides open again at noon.

On a more traditional musical note, there are concert performances of carols and seasonal classics at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. Get your New Year off to an uplifting start with Handel’s Messiah, with the RSNO Chorus on Friday 2 January or indulge in a rousing burst of polkas and waltzes at the Viennese Gala on Saturday 3 January. See the Concert Hall website (details below) for more information and ticket prices.

For singing of a rather more sing-a-long style, and an indoor, warm-and-dry Hogmanay option, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat at the SECC has two shows on 31 December, at 2pm and 5pm. Altogether now: ‘I close my eyes…’

www.gccs.org.uk, www.winterfestglasgow.com, www.irn-bru-carnival.com, www.glasgowconcerthalls.com, www.secctickets.com

More: Days out, Previews (Days out), Bleachie, Continental Festive Market, Glasgow on Ice, Hogmanay, Idlewild, Irn Bru Carnival, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Paolo Nutini, RSNO, Viennese Gala