A “berry” special celebration as Burgaw’s blueberry drop rings in the New Year

BURGAW, NC (WWAY) — Hundreds of people gathered in Burgaw on New Year’s Eve to see something besides a ball drop.

The town held its 6th annual New Year’s Eve Blueberry Drop.

Many people were excited for the drop as last year’s event was canceled due to rain.

What makes the blueberry drop different from other similar events isn’t just the ball that is dropped but also the time when its held.

The blueberry drops at 7 in the evening.

Cody Suggs is the parks and recreation director for Burgaw.

He said the drop happens earlier in the evening so that everyone can enjoy themselves.

“It’s just something that we adopted to have families come out in a safe environment, it allows staff to put on an event for the public and it allows everybody to get home safely to their homes to enjoy the 12 o’clock ball drop that we’re accustomed to,” Suggs said. “So we just want to keep it family-friendly and a safe environment for everyone.”

For residents like Kirstin Matthews, the drop is also a great way to show off something that means a lot to the town.

“The blueberry is so meaningful to our small town because we have a state festival, the North Carolina Blueberry Festival,” Matthews said. “And so its very meaningful to us and kind of nice to have something that is symbolic to our town be what is dropped to bring in the new year.”

Following the drop, the town held a fireworks show to finished the festivities.