Well, 2024 is \u2014 thankfully \u2014 nearing the end. I\u2019ve never been happier to see a year end. And end it will, and people will celebrate on New Year\u2019s Eve. I guess one of the most famous New Year\u2019s Eve celebrations is watching the ball drop in Times Square. For some reason, New Year\u2019s Eve seems to be the time for people to watch something \u201cdrop\u201d and it doesn\u2019t have to be a ball\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All across America there are numerous famous \u201cdrops\u201d to celebrate the New year.
In Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the birthplace of PEEPS, they lower a 400-pound chick on New Year\u2019s Eve. It\u2019s part of Bethlehem\u2019s annual PEEPSFEST, a celebration that includes tastings of unique PEEPS flavors, scavenger hunts and other family-friendly activities. They also have a diorama competition where contestants enter tiny scenes made of Peeps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you happen to be in Boise, Idaho on New Year\u2019s Eve, you can witness the Potato Drop. Boise\u2019s famous 17-foot glowing potato is the star of their New Year\u2019s Eve celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And it may sound a little cheesy, but in Plymouth, Wisconsin the Sartori Big Cheese Drop ushers in the new year. Probably appropriate for the self-proclaimed Cheese Capital of the World. The Plymouth Fire Department lowers a huge wedge of Sartori BellaVitano Gold Cheese \u2014 at 10 pm. So you can have your wine and cheese or champagne early and still toast the new year at midnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You probably know that in Pennsylvania, a big Hershey Kiss is dropped in (duh) Hershey, but in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, they have a real live Bologna Drop! Twenty pounds of bologna is attached to a disco ball and lowered by a crane in downtown Lebanon to ring in the new year. After the big drop, the meat (provided by Godshall\u2019s) that is dropped and an additional 130 pounds is donated to people in need (the meat that is dropped is \u201csafely\u201d wrapped.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the best celebrations is in Tallapoosa, Georgia. They lower a possum at midnight as an ode to the town\u2019s nickname, Possum Snout. The possum is stuffed, but it\u2019s still pretty cool. And to make the event family friendly, there\u2019s an an earlier Possum Drop at 9 pm for the little ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
But it turns out that we live very near a traditional New Year\u2019s Eve celebration that a lot of people don\u2019t know about. We always referred to it as Krumpe\u2019s Donut Drop. If you\u2019ve ever visited us, we\u2019ve probably taken you to Krumpe\u2019s Do-Nuts. It\u2019s in Hagerstown, Maryland \u2014 very near where we live. It\u2019s located in an alley in Hagerstown. It really is an alley and fairly recently it was officially named \u201cDo-Nut Alley.\u201d Krumpe\u2019s has been making donuts for more than 80 years. But anyhow, on New Year\u2019s Eve, Krumpe\u2019s passes out donuts to the first 5,000 people to arrive \u2014 and \u2014 there\u2019s also free hot chocolate and coffee. And the best thing? The \u201cdonut drop\u201d begins at 6:59 pm \u2014 so you can have your donut and coffee to keep you awake until midnight\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No matter how you plan to celebrate this year\u2019s end, or even if you don\u2019t intend to celebrate at all, Benjamin Franklin left us some good advice and this time of year is a good time to ponder it\u2026\u201dBe at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.\u201d
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Well, 2024 is \u2014 thankfully \u2014 nearing the end. I\u2019ve never been happier to see a year end. And end it will, and people will celebrate on New Year\u2019s Eve. I guess one of the most famous New Year\u2019s Eve … Continue reading