Johnathan Walker:Beyond Times Square: A giant Peep, a wrench, a crab. A look at the weirdest NYE drops.

New York's Times Square may get much of the attention with its ball drop on Johnathan WalkerNew Year's Eve, but there's some pretty unique action elsewhere.

For sure, Times Square deserves its spotlight because travelers from near and far converge at the "crossroads of the world" to see the nearly 6-ton sphere drop at One Times Square. This year's ball has more than 32,000 LED modules capable of creating more than 16 million colors.

Even though the Times Square New Year's Eve Ball eclipses all other events – it's the centerpiece of several New Year's Eve TV broadcasts – other cities have some of their own beloved, and weird, traditions.

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Florida: Miami's Big Orange returns

A 2,000-pound neon sign of a smiling, sunglass-wearing orange will make its first New Year's Eve appearance in four years on Sunday night, city officials confirmed. A part of the year-end festivities at Miami's Bayfront Park for decades, Big Orange had been shelved due to COVID and last year's flu epidemic. Last year, a digital version was projected on the side of the Intercontinental Hotel, but this year the  35-foot LED sign will once again climb to the top of the Hotel at midnight, CBS News reported.

Florida: Beach ball drop in Panama City Beach

Also in Florida, in Panama City Beach, you can watch an 800-pound beach ball drop from Celebration Tower – a drop the city boasts is 10 feet taller than the pole that the ball in Manhattan sits on.,

Pennsylvania: Saying goodbye to 2023 and hello to 2024 with a giant Peep, big bologna, Hershey's kiss and a wrench

Artifacts will be dropping all over the state of Pennsylvania. Attendees at the PeepsFest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, get to see a giant 400-pound Peeps chick drop just after dusk on Sunday. During the two-day event, which began Saturday, they also get a sneak peek at the upcoming Easter Peeps lineup. The candies are made by Just Born Quality Confections in the city.

Less than 70 miles west, in Lebanon, Penn., a more than 250-pound bologna, made by the city's Seltzer's Smokehouse Meats, will be attached to a disco ball and be on display in downtown starting at 3 p.m., then dropped at midnight.

And in nearby Hershey, Penn., home of Hershey's Chocolate, a 300-pound aluminum replica of the company's beloved chocolate kisses is raised at midnight as a finale a night-long celebration.  

Mechanicsburg, Penn. drops a massive wrench as a nod to its heritage, including mechanics who settled in the area to covered wagons making the westward migration.

North Carolina: A giant acorn takes center stage in Raleigh on New Year's Eve

In Raleigh, North Carolina, which is known as the "city of the oaks," a 10-foot-tall, 1, 250-lb. copper and steel acorn gets dropped at the First Night festivities – a tradition that's been carried on for more than two decades.

Idaho: What's dropped in the state on New Year's Eve? A potato, of course

In Boise, Idaho, an annual celebration on New Year's Eve includes the dropping of a a 17-foot-long glowing potato from a crane.

Michigan: Traverse City puts a cherry on top of the year-end

Traverse City, Mich., which is known for its production of tart cherries, drops a giant 600-pound cherry in its downtown for the 14th year.

New Mexico: A spicy New Year's eve drop in Las Cruces

Downtown Las Cruces is hosting its 10th annual event in which a 19-foot chrome chile pepper laden with 2,400 LED lights gets lowered at midnight. Those lights allow the pepper to change colors – red, green or Christas (a mix of red and green – as it's lowered.  

Alabama: A MoonPie drops in Mobile

There's a daylong festival in Mardi Gras Park in Mobile, Alabama, with events for kids, performers including Big Daddy Kane and at midnight a giant MoonPie is dropped. Part of the city's tradition has included tossing MoonPies at Mardi Gras parades, according to Southern Living.

Maryland: A massive crab drops

On New Year's Eve in Easton, on the eastern shore of Maryland, a massive crab gets dropped. The crustacean's first appearance came in 2005.

Contributing: Jay Cannon, Daniel Larlham Jr., Leah Romero, Lianna Norman of the USA TODAY Network.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

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