Glitter, balloons, games, cookies and homemade potluck appetizers kept everyone busy in the four hours leading up to 2017 as Gadsby and area residents came together to celebrate on Saturday, Dec. 31.
According to Megan McPhee, one of the event organizers, the attendance topped out at just under 50 people, adults and children alike, which was a "good turnout" for the small community.
It's the first New Year's party put on by the new Gadsby Hall Board, which reformed last year, with younger members of the community taking the reins from the elder, retiring board members.
"We're pretty happy with the turn out," McPhee said. "We don't know when the last (New Year's Eve) party was held here, but it's been a while."
With tables heaped with homemade appetizers and goodies, juice and pop for the kids and a small bar for the adults, there was something for everyone.
"We had a lot of food," McPhee said, before adding with a laugh, "And not much of it went home."
Police stopped by early in the evening, ensuring the hall's liquor licence was all in order and making sure everyone had plans to get home safe and sound, with drinking and driving not on anyone's playbook for the early hours of 2017.
During the hours leading up to midnight, a countdown clock was projected onto one wall. Kids played different games, took part in a few craft activities like decorating cookies and making celebratory noisemakers, while adults gathered together to visit and socialize, or play crib and poker.
"Our goal is to get more people from the community involved," McPhee said. In the past two years, the board has focused on holding small, regular events at the hall to help bolster the community's spirit and family-like environment.
"It's important to have something that brings us together," she said.
Some of the upcoming events for the board include an all-ages, family-friendly St. Valentine's Day dance, as well as an adults-only St. Patrick's day evening.
"The St. Patrick's day party went really well last year," McPhee said, noting it was one of the first events hosted at the community's hall by the new board. "We had a lot of people come out and we're hoping it will be another hit."
The community hall is located on the very edge of the village, and is housed in an old school house that has been converted into a hall.