There was a time in my life when there was no place I would rather ring in the new year than New York’s Times Square. I remember as a child watching the glittering ball descend on the Big Apple on TV from my home on the Big Island of Hawaii (five hours after it had actually dropped). I spent years dreaming of being in the midst of the pomp and pageantry. That was a few decades ago, and now Times Square is probably the last place on the planet I’d want to be at 11:59:59 p.m. on New Year’s Eve. (Okay, maybe I’d like to experience the hoopla at least once in my life.)
If you prefer not to ring in 2008 from the confines of your living room there are other options you could consider. Take a look:
GEORGIA
The city of Atlanta has their version of New York’s sparkly ball—-an 800-pound peach made of fiberglass. This year marks the 19th annual Peach Drop held in Underground Atlanta, a six-block retail and entertainment district. A fireworks show and an explosion of confetti follow the fruit descent. Country singer Miranda Lambert will also be on hand to entertain the crowd. Festivities start at noon with family-friendly activities and special events for children and continues until 4 a.m. with adult entertainment at various restaurants, bars and nightclubs throughout the city.
LOUSIANA
About half of my hometown will be in New Orleans this New Year’s Eve waiting to watch our beloved Warriors beat up on the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl on January 1st. Before that happens revelers will hit Jackson Square where the New Year’s Eve celebration starts at 8:30 p.m. with partying and live music. At midnight a lighted gumbo pot drops from atop the Jax Brewery. That’s followed by a fireworks display, which illuminates the night skies over the Mississippi. The revelry continues for the rest of the night at various restaurants and bars in the nearby French Quarter.
FLORIDA
You could head south to Key West, Florida where a 6-foot-tall manmade conch shell descends down a pole to the roof of Sloppy Joe’s Bar to signify the start of the new year. Another midnight decent occurs on December 31st at the Bourbon Street Pub-New Orleans House complex where a giant red high-heel shoe carrying a drag queen descends down to the masses.
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