Odd New Year's Eve Celebrations

Spending New Year's Eve at Times Square is on my bucket list BUT if you can't make it to NY this year, there are a lot of other cool places to spend the holiday.  Thanks to the people at James Korenchen for sending this fun list:

PHOTO: Countdown Entertainment LLC

Last Night Fayetteville (Hog Drop) – Fayetteville, Arkansas

Taking place in Fayetteville’s Downtown Square, this New Year’s Eve celebration features a performing arts festival with musical performances, belly dancing, jugglers, comedians, a giant puppet parade, and more throughout the evening.  As the evening approaches the New Year, the downtown square will count down with the annual “Hog Drop” as a 10-foot long and 6-feet tall fiberglass sculpture of a pig is lowered to the ground.  After the ceremony, the Downtown Square’s Christmas lights are dimmed as a display of fireworks continue the celebration into the New Year.

Deuce of Clubs Drop – Show Low, Arizona

The Arizona mountain town named for a poker game celebrates the New Year by dropping a 6-foot tall electronic deuce of clubs card made out of reinforced sign cabinet (extruded aluminum) in the middle of Deuce of Clubs Road.  The event began in 2011 to celebrate the unique and historical naming of the city. The free event takes place at Festival Marketplace and begins at 10 p.m. with music, dancing, fireworks, food and hot chocolate for the whole family.  Additionally, in commemoration of the event, spectators of the drop have a chance to win a $2 bill by drawing the deuce of clubs in a card game.

Olive Drop – Bartlesville, Oklahoma

Guests can celebrate in cheer as the spirits flow at the Price Tower Arts Center’s annual Olive Drop New Year’s Eve event.  Taking place at the Price Tower Arts Center, a skyscraper designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in Bartlesville, Oklahoma, the event provides entertainment throughout the evening with live music, dancing, a champagne toast, and more.  At midnight, a giant styrofoam olive descends 14 floors to the 10-feet tall Martini glass located on the second floor of the building.

Meteor Drop – Wetumpka, Alabama

For more than 20 years, this southern river city has welcomed in the New Year with a blast from the past.  Wetumpka is home to a six mile crater that was created by a large asteroid that crashed 85 million years ago.  The event features a mock asteroid with a fiery trail blasting into the plaza in front of the courthouse.  The asteroid is dropped at 11 p.m. and is followed by a fireworks show at the stroke of midnight.

Pine Cone Drop – Flagstaff, Arizona

Flagstaff will ring in the New Year at the Weatherford Hotel with its traditional Pine Cone Drop featuring an 8-foot tall by 4-feet wide pine cone made out of gold and silver aluminum and lit from top to bottom. The tradition first started in 1999 to celebrate hotel’s 100th anniversary and has grown to attract a record crowd of nearly 8,000.  Music, fireworks and family fun are all part of the night’s celebration that starts at 10 p.m. with the giant pine cone’s first drop of the night for families and again at midnight, which is followed by fireworks.

The Droppin’ of the Carp – Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin

In Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, the carp master, from The Droppin’ of the Carp, ceremoniously lowers Lucky, a frozen 25 - 30 lbs. carp recently caught in the Mississippi River, 110-feet into a wooden cradle during a countdown to midnight.  Attended by more than 2,500 people, residents are encouraged to kiss the carp for good luck.  The Droppin’ of the Carp also includes three hours of live family-friendly entertainment, a bon fire, music, and fireworks.  After the carp drops, attendees recite the “Pledge of Allegiance” and a sing along to “God Bless America.”