LONDON — Looks like Times Square has some competition. As the Big Apple's iconic ball drop in Times Square rings in 2015, cities across the U.S. are putting a twist on the typically New York New Year's Eve tradition with their own local icons. Revelers in Las Cruces are spicing things up with the city's first-ever "chili drop" of a 15-foot illuminated chili.
In Miami, a 35-foot neon orange will light up, while Atlanta and Nashville, Tennessee, will drop a peach and a musical note, respectively. Flagstaff, Arizona, will celebrate with a 6-foot pine cone that drops from a downtown hotel, while nearby Prescott drops a 6-foot spurred cowboy boot in a nod to its western culture.
On Lake Erie in Port Clinton, Ohio, the community will carry on its tradition of dropping a 600 pound walleye made of wood and fiberglass. Michigan's Upper Peninsula will ring in 2015 with a nod to its mining history, with a replica of a pasty — a baked pastry filled with meat and potatoes — to drop in Escanaba, one of the remote region's largest cities. The meal was popular by miners who immigrated to Michigan decades ago.
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