Almost everyone is familiar with “ball drop” in Manhattan’s Times Square every year on New Year’s Eve — the event draws thousands of people to New York City, while millions more across the country watch the spectacle on TV channels and streaming platforms.
However, many other, smaller but no less festive celebrations take place alongside the great man food versions “dropped” to help welcome and celebrate the New Year – including potatoes in Idaho, tacos in Tucson, Arizona, and cheese in various towns in Wisconsin.
Here’s an in-depth look at four other food-focused events around the country.
3 UNIQUE NEW YEAR’S TRADITIONS THAT ARE SAID TO BRING ‘HAPPINESS’ AND ‘LOVE’ IN THE DAYS TO COME
Are any of these near you?
1. PEEPS Chick in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania is home to the Just Born candy factory, which produces PEEPS candiesan animal-shaped marshmallow candy that is popular at Easter.
PEEPS Chick was dropped in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on New Year’s Eve. (Discover the Lehigh Valley)
So it makes sense that the city wants to celebrate this – by dropping a giant PEEPS Chick to celebrate the New Year.
The 400-pound, 4-foot-9-inch PEEPS Chick was released twice – on December 30 and 31 in hour for the family from 5:35 p.m., according to the website for PEEPSFEST, an annual event held in Bethlehem.
2. Shrimp in Amelia Island, Florida
Florida’s Amelia Island has celebrated for the past decade by releasing “shrimp” on New Year’s Eve.
Florida’s Amelia Island has celebrated New Year’s Eve by releasing “smoked shrimp” for the past decade. (Fox News Channel)
The tradition started in 2015, Joe Zimmerman of “Light Up Amelia” told Fox News.
“Light Up Amelia” was originally created to fund Fourth of July fireworks, but “we jumped in for New Year’s as well,” he said.
“The idea of putting massive steaming shrimp into a steaming cauldron seemed like a natural fit in the home of the modern shrimp industry,” Zimmerman said.
3. Peach in Atlanta, Georgia
Georgia’s nickname is “Peach Country”, so it makes sense that its capital would want to ring in the New Year with one of the country’s most famous symbols.
The city of Atlanta, Georgia is home to the “Peach Drop”. (Paras Griffin/Getty Images)
The first “Peach Drop” was on December 31, 1989, and the event was held every year until the coronavirus pandemic.
The celebration is returning in 2025 after the 2024 event was canceled by the city of Atlanta, FOX 5 Atlanta said.
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Peach is eight feet tall and weighs more than 800 pounds. It falls at midnight.
4. Pickle in Mount Olive, North Carolina
Mount Olive, North Carolina is a small town about an hour southeast of Raleigh, North Carolina.
The town of Mount Olive, North Carolina is throwing a “pickle” into a pickle jar on New Year’s Eve. (Mt. Olive Pickles)
The city is home to Mt. Olive Pickles, which is the #1 “best-selling brand of pickles, peppers and snacks in the US,” according to their website.
For the past 25 years, Mount Olive University has hosted the “Pickle Drop.”
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The event features a large “New Year’s Pickle” that is thrown into a giant jar of Mt. Olive Pickles – courtesy of the local fire department’s ladder truck.
This event draws several thousand people to the city each year – and ends early.
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The pickle itself falls during a “traditional early countdown at 7 o’clock ‘midnight,'” Mt. Olive Pickles said in a statement.
