New Year's Eve celebrations across US include 4 'food drops'

Nearly everyone is familiar with the "ball drop" in Times Square in Manhattan each year on New Year's Eve — the event draws thousands of people to New York City, while millions more across the country watch the spectacle on TV channels and streaming platforms.

But plenty of other, smaller yet no less festive celebrations are taking place with giant versions of foods "dropped" to help ring in and celebrate the New Year — including potatoes in Idaho, tacos in Tucson, Arizona, and cheese in various cities in Wisconsin. 

Here's a close look at four other food-focused events around the nation. 

3 NEW YEAR'S EVE FOOD TRADITIONS SAID TO BRING 'LUCK' AND 'LOVE' IN THE DAYS AHEAD

Are any of these near you?

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is home to the Just Born candy factory, which makes PEEPS candies, the animal-shaped marshmallow confection that is popular at Easter.

So it makes sense that the city would want to celebrate this – by dropping a giant PEEPS Chick to celebrate the New Year.

The 400-pound, 4-foot-9-inch PEEPS Chick is dropped twice – on Dec. 30 and 31 at the family-friendly hour of 5:35 p.m., according to the website for PEEPSFEST, an annual event held in Bethlehem. 

Amelia Island, Florida, has celebrated for the past decade with the dropping of a "shrimp" on New Year's Eve.

The tradition began in 2015, Joe Zimmerman of "Light Up Amelia" told Fox News. 

"Light Up Amelia" was originally created to fund a fireworks display for the Fourth of July, but "we stepped in for New Year's as well," he said. 

"The idea of dropping a massive, steaming shrimp into a steaming cauldron seemed like the natural thing to do in the home of the modern shrimp industry," said Zimmerman. 

Georgia's nickname is "The Peach State," so it makes sense that its capital city would want to ring in the New Year with one of the most iconic symbols of the state. 

The first "Peach Drop" was on Dec. 31, 1989, and the event was held each year until the coronavirus pandemic. 

The celebration returns in 2025 after the 2024 event was canceled by the city of Atlanta, said FOX 5 Atlanta. 

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The peach measures eight feet tall and weighs more than 800 pounds. It's dropped at midnight. 

Mount Olive, North Carolina, is a small town about an hour southeast of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The town is home to Mt. Olive Pickles, which is the No. 1 "best-selling brand of pickles, peppers and relishes in the U.S.," according to its website. 

For the last 25 years, the University of Mount Olive has hosted the "Pickle Drop." 

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The event features a large "New Year's Eve Pickle" that's dropped into a giant Mt. Olive Pickles jar – with some help from the local fire department's ladder truck. 

This event draws several thousand people to the town each year – and wraps up early. 

The pickle itself is dropped during a "traditional early countdown at the stroke of 7 o’clock ‘midnight,’" said a release from Mt. Olive Pickles.