If curling up on the couch and watching the national celebrations ring in the New Year is more your speed, you are in for a treat.
    Hey Romeo will be on stage in Edmonton and across Canada as part of the CityTV’s national celebration.
    The New Year’s Bash at Nathan Philip’s Park in Toronto is one of the country’s largest and is in its 28th year. The party is also at Olympic Plaza in Calgary and Churchill Square in Edmonton.
    This year Hey Romeo is a part of the celebration.
    “The new years gig is going to be a blast here in Edmonton downtown in Churchill Square, we just did the press conference yesterday at City Hall where we sang a couple of songs,” Rob Shapiro, former Drumheller resident and keyboard player for Hey Romeo told The Mail. “Citytv and Events Edmonton are partnering this year in production of the event so they are really kicking up the production with big video screens and other stuff.”
    This year the celebration includes a number of big names including internationally acclaimed vocalists the Tenors, hip-hop star Kardinall Offishall and Johnny Reid. Last year the show was reported to have drawn 5.1 million viewers. Hey Romeo will be performing in primetime from 11:05 to 11:35 p.m.
    “It will be televised on Citytv nationally so that is great exposure for the band for sure!” said Shapiro.
    The band is wrapping up a very successful 2012. Their single “Maybe You Remember Me cracked the Top 40 in Canada, hitting number 37 last week. Last week the band also received another award nomination, This time from the Association of Country Music in Alberta  (ACMA). They are nominated for   Group or Duo of the Year and Fan’s Choice Award.
    “The ACMA is in their 2nd year of existence so it’s a new organization but was fun to be a part of last year as we hosted their inaugural awards show in Red Deer,” said Shapiro.
    The ACMA Awards are January 27 in Red Deer. The band is also planning to head to Nashville to get working on some new songs. And after that they will be on the high seas headlining the Hey Romeo Cruise in February.

    Alberta got their first glimpse at what the Alberta Legislature may look like for the next four years and it appeared to be pretty colourful.
    While the legislature sat for a short time in the spring, this fall the gloves were off in Edmonton as the ruling Tories passed 10 pieces of legislation.
    “In the spring, Albertans made a strong statement on the issues that matter to them and what their government should focus on. Albertans expect us to focus on their priorities and to build and invest in Alberta’s future. I am proud to say that we have done just that,” said Premier Redford in a press release.
    It wasn’t without a fight however. According to a press release from the Official Opposition, the Wildrose Party, they dominated 61 per cent of the debate and of the more than 100 amendments introduced by opposition parties, half were from the Wildrose Party.
    Drumheller –Stettler MLA Rick Strankman himself spoke for about 44 minutes during the 93 hours of sitting.
    “The government would stand and vote down our amendments,” said Strankman.  “We are trying to bring forward what we believe to be good pieces of legislation… we are trying to be as serious as we can with our deliberations and input.”
    For Strankman the most important bills in his mind were the Responsible Energy Development Act, the Whistleblower Act and the Election Accountability Act.
    “We are put there in the public trust, that is our job; to put those pieces of legislation in for the public trust,” he said.
    While the opposition were only successful on two amendments, for the first time in many years the ruling party in Alberta was facing a pointed opposition, and their work dominated many of the headlines.
    “We are holding their feet to the fire, like in the Election Accountability Act, we wanted to make it so donations were smaller,” he said. "We are trying to do the best we can.”
     Many media reports of the fall sitting were of a raucous atmosphere punctuated by heated debates that at times may have crossed into the personal.
     Strankman said there was a certain “level of frustration.”
    “The Premier doesn’t extend her stay in the chamber for any great length. She does come in irregularly in some late hours for Committee of the Whole and such but not for any extended period. We are hoping to hold the government to account for frugality of the dollars that are spent,” he said.
    Now that the legislature has recessed Strankman is back in his riding.  He told The Mail he is not sure when he will be in the Drumheller area, although he may be here for some Christmas functions.