The Pre-Parade Ceilidh with Whisky Kiss was held last night in the Altman Building in Soho, way down near the foot of Manhattan.

It proved to be a great venue for the dancing which began early but finished before midnight to allow everyone a rest before today’s parade.

Learning Strip the Willow

From the word go the band’s Iain MacPhail called each dance to get everyone reeling like they had done it all their lives. Hosted by the New York Caledonian Club, the evening was a great opener for today’s parade with Grand Marshal Sir Billy Connolly.

Shot of Scotch from New York

Young and old Americans of Scots descent mingled with Scots who have made the journey to New York for this weekend, perhaps to rekindle their own feeling of heritage and belonging. Belhaven provided the beer to accompany the mince and tatties.

Outfits were varied with everything from cocktail dresses and high heels to full kit attire alongside some interesting sporrans.

Among the dancers were 30 Edinburgh College students from Performing Arts Studio Scotland in Granton who have been here all week giving classes and exhibitions.

You will be able to dance the night away with Whisky Kiss at the Hogmanay Snow Ball Ceilidh at Assembly Rooms on 31 December 2019.

Enthusiastic dancers


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Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.