Ring in the New Year with free events for the family

Ottawa will ring in 2018 and say goodbye to the busy, festive year that was with plenty of free events theentire family can enjoy.

Canada 150 closing party on the Hill

Musical entertainers and evening DJs for the Canada 150 closing events on Parliament Hill have been cancelled due to ongoing extreme cold in the region, according to Canadian Heritage.

Other programmingfor Dec.30and 31has been modified. The presentation of Nimidiwin from 4 p.m to 5:30 p.m. at the Canadian Museum of History, the Christmas Lights Across Canada multimedia show and public skating on the Canada 150 Rinkincluding extended hours right through midnight on Dec.31will continue as planned.

Pyrotechnics and a laser show will also take place at midnight on the Hill.

As previously announced, the Canada 150 hockey tournament taking place on the Canada 150 rink has been relocated and is underway at indoor locations. The reserved ice time for the tournament is now available for public skating.

2017 wrap-up celebrations at City Hall

6 p.m.-8 p.m.Inside City Hall's council chambers people are invited to watch a video recappingthe past year,including some never-before-seen footage of La Machine from a documentary filmed during the July event. Ottawa 2017 executive director and producerGuy Laflammewill share some behind-the-scenes stories. SomeOttawa 2017 pageantry items will be available for purchase inside Jean Pigott Hall on New Year's Eve.

6:30 p.m.-7 p.m. JUNO Award winning DJ Rise Ashen will play music.

7 p.m.-8 p.m. Professional yoga teachers will lead participants through an indoorsession of exercises to the beats of DJ Rise Ashen. (Thisevent was originally scheduled to happen outside, but was moved indoors due to extreme cold.)

8:17 p.m. An event to salute volunteers and formally wrap up Ottawa 2017 celebrations will happen outside atthe Ottawa 2017 Cauldron at 20:17 (8:17 p.m.). It is going ahead as planned.

Hogman-eh!

This free event brings the spirit of Scotland's New Year's celebration of Hogmanayto the Aberdeen PavillionatLansdownePark. Hosted by the Scottish Society of Ottawa and in its sixth year running, the event includes kid-friendly activities and music for everyone this year featuring bandsthe Urban Highlanders,cosse and the American Rogues.The party gets started at 4:45 p.m.

Rick Chiarelli'sAlcohol-Free New Year's Eve

JoinRick Chiarelli and his family for a booze-free party at Ben Franklin Place. Things kick off at 6 p.m. with a skating show by the NepeanSkating Club. The rest of the evening will feature indoor and outdoor activities, including skating, sleigh rides, a bouncy castle and face painting. The party wraps up at 10 p.m. with fireworks. This year the event has a wizard and witches theme and families are invitedto dress up in costume.

Nimidiwin: Celebrating our Dance from Coast to Coast to Coast

Nimidiwin, the Algonquin word for dance,is a celebration of First Nations culture though dance and song and an opportunity to welcome the New Yearin peace and friendship. The eventtakes place at the Canadian Museum of History from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31 and will includeperformances by Grammy nominateddrum group Northern Cree and Junoaward winner Susan Aglukark.

New Year's Eve at the National Arts Centre

You can also celebrate the coming of the new year at the National Arts CentreDec. 31 from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. There will be free family activities including holiday crafts, performances by a local jazz band, a New Year's dance party and lots of hot chocolate.