FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — The event of the year in Fernandina Beach is the annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival, held the first weekend of May to celebrate the town's heritage as the birthplace of the modern shrimping industry.
So it makes sense that, when local officials were looking for a unique way to welcome the new year, the New Year's Eve Shrimp Drop was created.
It's so unusual, in fact, that the event placed third on USA TODAY's list of the best New Year's Eve Drops, beating out a pierogi, a pine cone, a possum, a pickle and a Peep.
It was the idea of the Light Up Amelia committee, which is also in charge of the annual 4th of July fireworks show. A shrimp measuring seven feet from head to tail and covered with LED lights is slowly lowered, similar to the ball in New York's Times Square (which placed 10th on the USA TODAY list, by the way), to count down the new year.
But in a twist to make the event more family-friendly, the Shrimp Drop doesn't count down to midnight — it counts down to 7 p.m., which is midnight Greenwich Mean Time and the dawn of the new year.
"We wanted it to be a family-friendly event, allow parents to welcome a new year with their younger kids," said R.J. Sicre, chairman of the committee.
Festivities start at 5 p.m. at the Fernandina Beach Marina and include a live DJ, face painting, food trucks and free party hats and beads. A 20-minute fireworks show follows.
A panel of experts and USA TODAY editors came up with nominees for the list, and readers chose their favorites over the course of four weeks of voting.
Here are the Top 10 USA TODAY Best New Year's Eve Drops:
- Ludington's New Year’s Eve Ball Drop (Ludington, Michigan)
- Idaho Potato Drop (Boise, Idaho)
- New Year's Eve Shrimp Drop (Amelia Island, Florida)
- Pierogi Drop (Whiting, Indiana)
- The Great Pinecone Drop (Flagstaff, Arizona)
- PEEPS Chick Drop (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
- New Year's Eve Beach Ball Drop (Panama City Beach, Florida)
- The Possum Drop (Tallapoosa, Georgia)
- Pickle Drop (Mount Olive, North Carolina)
- Times Square Ball Drop (New York City, New York)
