By JOHN SEEWER Associated Press
Why let New York City have all the fun with its Times Square ball drop on New Year’s Eve?
Dozens of places across the U.S. will ring in 2026 by dropping a quirky assortment of fruits, vegetables, sea creatures and balls of all shapes and sizes.
Many have a hometown flair.
There’s the giant cheese wedge in Plymouth, Wisconsin, a chile pepper in Las Cruces, New Mexico, a pinecone in Flagstaff, Arizona, and a conch shell in Key West, Florida.
Pennsylvania is home to a bonanza of bizarre New Year’s Eve events — the bologna drop in Lebanon, the pickle drop in Dillsburg and the potato chip drop in Lewistown.
It’s a New Year’s tradition that goes back to 1907 when a 700-pound (318-kilogram) ball measuring five feet (1.5 meters) in diameter debuted in Times Square. Copycat celebrations have surged coast to coast over the past few decades and around the beginning of the new millennium.
Here’s a look at some of those events around the nation:
Fruity traditions on New Year’s Eve
It’s said in some cultures that eating fruit on New Year’s Eve brings luck and wealth. Perhaps that’s why many cities mix fruit into their celebrations. Miami has its “Big Orange” drop, while Sarasota, Florida, features a pineapple. There are cherry drops in Milwaukie, Oregon, and Traverse City, Michigan. Brightly lit grapes plunge from above in Temecula, California. Atlanta this year is replacing its peach drop with a “digital drone peach in the sky.”
Beach balls and flip-flops
It’s tough to beat ringing in the year while watching a pair of sparkly flip-flops diving into Folly Beach, South Carolina. In Panama City Beach, Florida, there’s an evening-long bash where 15,000 beach balls are dropped above revelers just hours before a giant beach ball descends a tower at midnight.
MoonPies and a giant Peep
What could be better than seeing a 600-pound (272 kilograms) MoonPie make a 60-second descent in Mobile, Alabama? How about getting a slice of MoonPie cake at the city’s biggest event of the year? Not sweet enough? Check out the 400-pound (181 kilograms) yellow Peep chick that drops into Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
Seafood smorgasbord
Waterfront cities celebrate the sea on New Year’s Eve. Brunswick, Georgia, has the shrimp drop, while Easton, Maryland, serves up its annual crab drop. The oyster drop is the main event in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The biggest catch might be in Port Clinton, Ohio, along Lake Erie, home to a 600-pound (272-kilogram) walleye named Wylie. The original papier-mache version debuted 30 years ago and has given way to a menacing fiberglass fish.
Potatoes and pierogies
There’s definitely a food theme to these New Year’s drops. Just outside Chicago, watch out for a 10-foot (3 meters) pierogi in Whiting, Indiana. The Idaho Potato Drop in Boise has been going for more than a decade, and Mt. Olive, North Carolina, celebrates its hometown pickle brand by dropping a glittery green pickle that’s close to 6 feet (1.8 meters) long.
Possum drop lives on
All of these events are meant to be fun, boost civic pride and attract tourists. But one created such a stir that it ended up in court. Residents in western North Carolina no longer lower a live possum inside a glass box at midnight, calling off the event in 2019 after years of protests and legal challenges. There is still a possum drop in Tallapoosa, Georgia, which was long ago known as Possum Snout. That one, though, stars a stuffed possum named Spencer.