 |
|
| Photo: Jen Davis New York's Times Square hosts a very public and gala New Year's Eve celebration with more than a million people in attendance. |
|
For celebrating New Year's Eve, quirky works well, too
By Rick Martinez
With its New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square, New York’s celebration is one of the most iconic and festive gatherings on the planet.
It’s been going on since 1904 and draws more than a million people — not including all the millions of folks watching on television or via the web.
The focal point is the illuminated Waterford Crystal ball, which displays a multi-million-patterned display of colors and descends down a flagpole at 1 Times Square.
Of course, good luck finding a bathroom during the Big Apple’s big event. And forget about drinking any champagne while hanging out in Times Square.
In my own household, the debate is whether we’ll hit downtown Grand Rapids, Mich., for its first night celebration or enjoy our homestead instead.
There are other ways — like in New York, Grand Rapids and at home — to ring in the New Year with some quirkiness if you look.
TripAdvisor has compiled a list of 10 festive and fun places in the U.S. to welcome 2012.
In that other Manhattan in Kansas, the city has its own version of the Big Apple. Manhattan’s activities start at 10 p.m. with a laser light show and music.
 |
||
| Photo: Community Association of Lebanon At the festive New Year's event in Lebanon, Pa., a 200-pound chunk of bologna gets dropped to highlight the celebration. |
||
At midnight, a rotund ruby aluminum-and-glass apple drops to the ground for the ninth straight year with fireworks ablaze. Basically, it’s the Little Apple Drop in the hometown of Kansas State University.
Other quirky places, according to TripAdvisor, to celebrate New Year's Eve include the Possum Drop in Brasstown, N.C.; Wooden Flea Drop in Eastover, N.C.; Sardine Drop in Eastport, Maine; Sushi Drag Queen Drop in Key West, Fla.; Bologna Drop in Lebanon, Pa.; MoonPie Over Mobile in Mobile, Ala.; Pelican Drop in Pensacola, Fla.; Big Cheese Drop in Plymouth, Wis.; and the Watermelon Drop in Vincennes, Ind.
Mobile celebrates the marshmallow treat MoonPie by dropping a 12-foot electronic MoonPie from 34 stories at midnight. Events begin at 7:30 p.m. with a parade, music and other events.
That has got me to thinking also about Lebanon’s 12-foot, 200-pound bologna and Vincennes’ 18-foot, 500-pound watermelon. Sorry, but Plymouth’s Big Cheese is made of styrofoam.
Still, all this is, admittedly, making me hungry.
So, however you’re planning to celebrate, my advice is this: Make sure you eat. It’s not as much fun celebrating on an empty stomach.
