Check out unique New Year’s Eve drops from around the US
Take a virtual tour around the state to see some of the most unique New Year’s Eve drops.
When many people think of New Year’s Eve, images of a giant colorful ball in New York City’s Times Square may come to mind, but for some others across the country, the New Year’s bell looks a little different.
Across the country, items unique to a city or state are chosen at midnight to celebrate the new year, including large illuminated mechanical food items, shoes, and symbols of the city itself.
Here are some of the most unusual New Year’s Eve drops in the US.
The sounds of Nashville music usher in the new year.
In the city of music, it is common to welcome the new year with musical notes. The event includes the famous red musical note, which is dropped from a 140-foot tower at midnight to ring in the new year.
The giant aluminum and acrylic music note is 16 feet tall and weighs about 400 pounds. The bill has 28,140 LED pixels that will create a 90-second fireworks display when the bill drops at midnight, according to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation.
Door County’s annual cherry drop
This is the ninth year Door County has dropped giant cherries into the crowd. Ellie Soderbergh-Guger of the Sister Bay Information Center told USA TODAY that Wisconsin chose the sparkling cherry to welcome the new year as a way to encourage winter travel and create celebration with local residents.
The illuminated cherries weigh 300 pounds, Soderberg-Guger said. He added that the event has brought tourism awards and grants to the region since its inception.
Amelia Island, Florida drops jumbo shrimp
Ten years ago, Amelia Island, Florida, started a new tradition of dropping giant shrimp along with fireworks to celebrate the New Year, Madison Joza, director of communications and social media for the Amelia Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, told USA TODAY. “Fernandina is famous for being the birthplace of the modern shrimp industry, so shrimp was the natural choice,” added Joza.
Fans can view an LED custom shrimp drop on the downtown Fernandina Beach waterfront, and the event will feature food, music, vendors and more. This year’s LED Shrimp is new and improved, Joza added, and the event will include a “Name the Shrimp” contest prior to the item drop at 7 p.m. ET.
Key West, Florida clicks into 2026
The New Year’s Eve ball drop in Key West, south Florida, looks a little different than jumbo shrimp.
A giant ruby red heel has been in place in Key West for more than 20 years, and drag queens have been lowered into it.
“Each year, a stunning drag queen climbs over a balcony railing in a gorgeous gown, carefully perches on eight-foot-long red high heels dangling approximately 15 feet above Duval Street, and smiles and ‘waves the queen’s hand’ to thousands of cheering New Year’s Eve crowds below,” the Visit Florida Keys website states.
The website says the Queen will provide “witty commentary” while waiting for midnight. The event will also feature performances by other drag queens, male dancers, and other entertainers.
Boise, see your favorite dish falling
In Boise, Idaho, fans will be able to see a giant glowing potato being dropped on the state Capitol for the first time in 13 years.
Tater shines above the city for several hours, then disappears with fireworks at midnight. Potato Rise begins at 6pm local time. It may look real, but it’s not an actual potato hanging over the city. The item is a custom-made polystyrene potato that is illuminated from the inside and painted to resemble a real Idaho potato, according to the event’s website.
Indiana drops giant pierogi from the sky
In Whiting, Indiana, a different kind of potato dish is taking to the air in honor of the new year. For the past nine years, the northwest Indiana town has been dropping pierogi at midnight to coincide with its fireworks show, and plans to do the same again this coming New Year’s Eve.
A 10-foot-tall pierogi is illuminated with lights and falls 50 feet into a boiling cauldron for the 10th year. Pierogi Drop Chairman Andy Dibell told USA TODAY that the event, hosted by the Whiting Knights of Columbus, is “a little different” and aims to create a special experience for tourists as well as locals in town.
“We have a big compound clock, we have lights, we have music and confetti, and as soon as this happens, the church bells in town ring,” Dibell said. “We’re trying to be as close to New York’s Times Square as possible.”
Raleigh, North Carolina drops giant acorns of copper and steel
In Raleigh, North Carolina, giant barrels and steel acorns are being dropped to celebrate New Year’s Eve. The acorn was created in 1992 to commemorate Raleigh’s bicentennial and is 10 feet tall and weighs more than 1,200 pounds, according to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance.
Visit Raleigh said the acorn was created by local artist David Benson and is a play on Raleigh’s nickname, “City of Oaks.” On Dec. 31, the acorn will be hoisted up by a crane and lowered during the final countdown to conclude the city’s annual opening night celebration.
“Older friends will lament, ‘Only three generations will remember us after we die,'” Benson said of Acorn’s legacy on Visit Raleigh. “Hey, I think we’ve got this resolved. We don’t even have to think about it!”
For the rest of this year, the acorns will be on display at City Plaza, 443 Fayetteville Street, which will be their home starting in May 2023.
“This is definitely a beloved icon,” said Stacey Bloom Rexrode, curator of exhibits and collections for the City of Raleigh’s Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Department, according to Visit Raleigh. “People get worried when sites are moved, but we’re always excited when it comes to new sites. We’ve never had any vandalism or anything like that.”
