This Town Rings in the New Year by Dropping a 400-Pound Marshmallow Peep

Towns around the country are adapting the famed New York City Times Square ball drop with their own versions of the New Year’s Eve tradition — and one of the “sweetest” is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

The hometown of Peeps marshmallow treats drops a gigantic, 400-pound marshmallow Peep on New Year’s Eve. Sadly, fiberglass composes the nearly 5-foot-tall Peep, so residents can’t actually get a bite. But real Peep treats abound at the two-day New Year’s festival.

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Just Born, which also makes Mike and Ike and Hot Tamales candies among other confections, hosts the events, which include fireworks, kid-friendly bands and a fun run. The big Peep comes down at the family-favored time of 5:15 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

It’s not just Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, that gets excited about dropping food on New Year’s Eve. In fact, in Pennsylvania alone, there are several other quirky food “ball drops.”

Hershey, Pennsylvania, home of Hershey’s chocolate, has a 300-pound, 80-foot Hershey’s Kiss that is dropped at midnight.

In Lebanon, Pennsylvania, they drop real bologna along with a papier-mache sausage in celebration of the town’s famous meat.

Pottsville, Pennsylvania, the home of Yuengling beer, raises a 6-foot replica of the tasty beer.

In Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, they hoist a gigantic mushroom 100 feet in the air in honor of the small town’s large mushroom production.

Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, hosts two pickle drops, one early on in the night for kids and a midnight drop for grown-ups.

And in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the city drops a gigantic strawberry at midnight.

As for the rest of the country, here’s a sampling of other food drops (or raises) on New Year’s Eve:

• A hunk of Sartori cheese in Plymouth, Wisconsin
• A 600-pound moon pie in Mobile, Alabama
• A pickle on a pole in Mount Olive, North Carolina
• An olive plonked into a martini in Bartlesville, Oklahoma
• A giant fake watermelon and a bunch of real watermelons get splattered in Vincennes, Indiana
• A potato drop in Boise, Idaho
• A giant peach in Atlanta, Georgia
• A cluster of grapes in Temecula, California
• A lit donut dunked into a big coffee cup in Hagerstown, Maryland

What food do you think makes a fitting New Year’s drop?