Good afternoon! It’s a little chilly here in town today, but we stayed warm and talked all about New Year’s traditions today! We all know that we drop the ball in New York at midnight, but we talked about some wacky and wild things that states drop at midnight! We also talked about some New Years traditions from different countries, as well as ways to reach your resolutions! Read on to find out more!
You dropped what!??!
New York is home to the most famous ‘drop’ on New Years, but other states have their fun with it as well! We talked about some states that celebrate by dropping things that might be a little out of the ordinary!
Hawaii: Honolulu takes a flavorful twist on the New Years Eve ball drop by raising a “Hala Kahiki”, or Pineapple, up into the air. Sip on some pineapple wine and watch this oversized fruit drop in celebration of the oncoming year!
Pennsylvania: Mechanicsburg, PA rightfully celebrates New Years Eve with the dropping of a large lighted wrench. The event always includes refreshments and music that the whole family will love, as well as some delicious food.
Arizona: Flagstaff, Arizona is brought in by dropping a giant 70-pound glowing metal pinecone. The citizens of Flagstaff gather in the historic downtown area and watch the cone fall from the bough of the Hotel Weatherford.
Georgia: Although not as juicy as a normal Georgia peach, this 800-pound monster is still impressive. The peach has been dropped in Atlanta on New Years Eve since 1989 and the event always includes a full day of festivities.
Pennsylvania: Duncannon, Pennsylvania is all about fun when it comes to their New Years Eve drop tradition, with a giant 10-foot sled instead of a ball.
In Bethlehem, PA, Peeps, the signature marshmallow treats, receive recognition on more than just Easter. In fact, an entire festival is named after the cute little candies. Peepfest takes place in late December and includes a 5k race, live music, and other festivities.
Idaho: In another state famous for a semi-round piece of food, Boise, Idaho hosts a New Years Eve party featuring a giant potato. This is a fairly new festival that began in 2013 and has already seen great success. The event includes a professional fireworks show, live music, and plenty of food. You would not regret attending this event and being named what they call, “spec-taters.”
That’s just a few of our favorites! To see some more of these wacky items, check out USA Today’s story here!
Who Knew Trivia!
Today our trivia question was related to one of our topics! Our question was: “What object does Honolulu, Hawaii drop for their New Year celebration? The answer was a pineapple! Congratulations to our winner Charles from Howard! He guessed correctly and won the $5 gift certificate to Troyer’s of Apple Valley!
Word of the day!
Today’s word was a longer one, and it was ‘preponderance’. This word is a noun, and it means ‘fact or quality of being preponderant; superiority in weight, power, numbers, etc.’
“The preponderance of votes is against the proposal.”
Have a wonderful rest of your evening and stay warm!
-Lilly and Eddie
Driving Notes 