Across the United States, several cities and towns will drop items to celebrate the new year. That includes Flagstaff, which will continue its annual tradition of dropping a pinecone from the Weatherford Hotel.
The Great Pinecone Drop began on New Year’s Eve in 1999 in downtown Flagstaff.
The original pinecone was made out of some unusual material back then, says Sam Green, co-owner of the Weatherford Hotel.
“I built it out of a garbage can that had about 60 pounds of sand in it. I covered it, I made, like, a styrofoam wedding cake bottom to the garbage can and then covered the whole thing in pinecones and lights," she said.
Eventually, the pinecone received an upgrade and became a giant structure made out of aluminum metal.
Last week, USA Today’s 10 Best Readers' Choice Awards selected the Pinecone Drop as No. 5 among the 10 best New Year's Eve drops in the United States.
“We’ve gotten people from all over the country and some return. They’ve been returning people because they have such a good time. We’ve had them from all over — actually, all over the world," Green said.
The pincone drops several times on Dec. 31 for kids and partiers who want to turn in early. Catch the drop at noon, 10 p.m. and midnight. For details on how to attend the free event, visit coconino.az.gov.
