Hogmanay 2024 at Nairn Community & Arts Centre preview (with CAPTIONS)

Rhona MacDonald, Centre manager at Nairn  Community & Arts Centre, talks about the coming BBC Alba Hogmanay party to be hosted at the venue.

Transcript

00:00We're so excited to have the Hugmanay party here, so it's the Ceilidh na Blaenaur, our

00:15New Year party, and it's BBC Alba that's coming up to film it, and how exciting to take in

00:22the bells in there.

00:25I think it's just going to be a fantastic end to what has been a difficult year for

00:31the centre here, but it just ends it perfectly. We're stronger than ever and we're really

00:38looking forward to starting 2025 on such a positive note.

00:47So we've just recently had some funding from the Davidson Trust, which is a local trust,

00:52to upgrade the sound equipment at the centre, which was starting to fail. It's 17 years

00:58old now, the building, so we've got brand new equipment, and for any events that we

01:03have at the centre, it's going to be just the best sound.

01:10That's going to be really exciting, knowing that we're the only live broadcast for a Hugmanay

01:15party in Scotland, and for that to happen in there, and we're really, really pleased

01:20that the BBC have decided to come up to Nairn to film that.

01:26I know that the other channel has pre-recorded theirs, but I think the atmosphere is just

01:31going to be very special when it comes up to the bells, and that special midnight hour.

01:42We're going to have about 180 people in the hall that evening, and amazing bands, amazing

01:50presenters, so it's really going to be a great way to finish off the year.

01:55I think we're just going to hopefully go from strength to strength. I think the community

01:59are so supportive of the centre, that's certainly one thing that is apparent every single day.

02:06People come in and they're so supportive. We have an amazing team at the centre here,

02:11and I think, or my hope for 2025 is that that continues to grow.

02:16We've had funding recently from Creative Scotland, and that's to develop the art side of the centre.

02:25We have a different art exhibition every single month, and we're renovating one of the rooms,

02:31which is going to be turned into a creative hub. So that is all going to be keeping us very busy in 2025.