We have been kicking around the idea of putting together a New Year’s Eve celebration in Conshohocken for a while now. We would definitely want to do some type of ball drop at midnight, but can’t think of the perfect thing to drop that would represent Conshohocken. For example, Bethlehem, where Peeps are made, drops a Peep.
In the past it would have been easy, you could have dropped a tire (for Lee Tire) or some representation of steel. It isn’t so easy anymore, as Conshy is known more as a tech hub, which doesn’t lend itself as easily to a visual (that we can think of).
Pennsylvania actually has the most communities in the country conducting some type of drop on New Year’s Eve. Here is the list from Wikipedia:
- Allentown, Pennsylvania: A liberty bell replica is dropped to commemorate when the liberty bell was stored in Allentown during the American Revolution.
- Akron, Pennsylvania: A purple-and-gold shoe is dropped.[111]
- Beavertown, Pennsylvania: A stuffed beaver is dropped.[112]
- Bethlehem, Pennsylvania: A 100-pound yellow illuminated Peep made out of fiberglass. (The producer of Peeps, Just Born, is based in Bethlehem)[113][114][115]
- Blain, Pennsylvania: A wooden cow is dropped from a silo.[116]
- Boyertown, Pennsylvania: A bear has been dropped since 2010.[117]
- Bradford, Pennsylvania: The ball drop was discontinued for 2011 but brought back for 2012.[118]
- Carlisle, Pennsylvania: An Indy car is dropped.[110][119][120]
- Cleona, Pennsylvania: A pretzel is raised.[121]
- Cornwall, Pennsylvania: A Cannonball Drop commemorates the historic Cornwall Iron Furnace. The Civil War-era bowling-ball-sized cannonball is courtesy of Sgt. Damian Smith, command historian for the Pennsylvania National Guard.[122]
- Dillsburg, Pennsylvania: Two pickles are dropped,[119] one at midnight UTC (“Mrs. Pickle”) and the main drop at midnight Eastern Time.[123]
- Duncannon, Pennsylvania: A sled is dropped.[119]
- East Petersburg, Pennsylvania: A large “Haydn’s Jug” is dropped.
- Easton, Pennsylvania: A ten-foot Crayola crayon is dropped at 8 pm to accommodate children’s bedtimes[124]
- Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania: A giant M&M is dropped at midnight UTC to correspond with midnight in sister city Letterkenny in Ireland.[111] This changed to a Dove chocolate bar in 2012-13; both Dove and M&M’s are manufactured in Elizabethtown.[125]
- Falmouth, Pennsylvania: A stuffed goat is dropped.[116]
- Halifax, Pennsylvania: A Hemlock tree is dropped.[110][126][127]
- Hallam, Pennsylvania: A replica of the Haines Shoe House is dropped.[123]
- Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: A strawberry is dropped.[110][128]
- Hershey, Pennsylvania: A Hershey Kiss replica is raised.[110][129]
- Hummelstown, Pennsylvania: A lollipop is dropped.[130] [16]
- Ickesburg, Pennsylvania: A french fry is dropped.[131]‘
- Kennett Square, Pennsylvania: For 2014, a steel mushroom was dropped. Kennett Square, often called “The Mushroom Capital of the World”, is one of the largest growers of mushrooms.[132]
- Lancaster, Pennsylvania: A red rose is raised.[130]
- Lebanon, Pennsylvania: A 100-pound stick of Lebanon Bologna is dropped. The bologna itself is distributed to a local food bank and animal shelter following the drop.[130]
- Lewistown, Pennsylvania: A bag of Hartley’s potato chips is dropped.[112]
- Lisburn, Pennsylvania: A pair of yellow pants or “britches” is dropped in honor of the Yellow Breeches Creek.[133][134]
- Lititz, Pennsylvania: A Moravian star is raised.[111]
- Liverpool, Pennsylvania: A canal boat is dropped.[135]
- Media, Pennsylvania: A ball is dropped.[136]
- Manheim, Pennsylvania: A ball is raised.[111]
- McClure, Pennsylvania: A kettle is dropped in honor of McClure Bean Soup Festival.[137]
- McVeytown, Pennsylvania: An ice cream cake is dropped.[13]
- Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: A wrench is dropped.[110][119][138]
- Middletown, Pennsylvania: A metal Rhombicuboctahedron, referred to by the organizers as a “sphoctagon” (portmanteau of sphere and octagon), is dropped.[139]
- Myerstown, Pennsylvania: A tablet of Bayer aspirin has been dropped since 2013–14; Bayer operates a manufacturing plant in Myerstown.[140]
- New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania: A box huckleberry is dropped.[116]
- Newville, Pennsylvania: A big spring is dropped.[119]
- Palmyra, Pennsylvania: “The Giant Shoe” is dropped.[141]
- Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: A ball representing the planet earth, made of recycled materials, was raised for 2007.[130]
- Port Royal, Pennsylvania: A sprint car is dropped.[112]
- Pottsville, Pennsylvania: A bottle of Yuengling beer is raised.[130]
- Reamstown, Pennsylvania: “Wobbly Bob” on a beer barrel is dropped.[142]
- Red Lion, Pennsylvania: A wooden cigar held by a lion is raised.[130]
- Richland, Pennsylvania: A cigar is dropped.[143]
- Shamokin, Pennsylvania: A chunk of coal is dropped, turning into a diamond at the bottom; the event has been held since 1987–88.[144][145]
- Shippensburg, Pennsylvania: An anchor is dropped.[119]
- Strasburg, Pennsylvania: Ping pong balls are dropped.[111]
- Sunbury, Pennsylvania: An incandescent lamp is lit as an homage to the Hotel Edison and its namesake, Thomas Edison.[146]
- Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania: A chunk of coal is dropped, turning into a diamond at the bottom. The Wilkes-Barre celebration, which began in 1995–96, is an homage to the one in Shamokin.[147][148][149][150]
- Womelsdorf, Pennsylvania: A cigar is dropped, an event that began in 2012.[117]
- York, Pennsylvania: A white rose is dropped.[110][151]
Let us know in the comments or on Facebook what you think would best represent Conshohocken for a ball drop on New Year’s Eve.
Photo from NewYorker.com.