winter celebration, Snowtown USA. White Plains, New York: A ball drops from a crane on the corner of Main Street and Renaissance Square in downtown. The urban festival attracts 25,000 residents of Westchester County, New York. Wilson, New York: Two balls are dropped, one at 9p.m. and the other at midnight. North Carolina Beaufort, North Carolina: A pirate is dropped. Black Creek, North Carolina: A large red heart drop represents "A Small Town with a Big Heart". Brasstown, North Carolina: A plexiglas pyramid containing a living opossum is lowered from the roof of Clay Logan's convenience store for The Possum Drop. The possum is turned loose at the end of the celebration. Despite these measures, the event has been met with criticism from animal rights activists, particularly PETA, who has a history of objections to the event. The event resumed in 2014. After PETA protests, organizers announced in January 2018 they would be stepping down and retiring from organizing the event, saying that "it's a hard job to do" and "it's time to move on." Burgaw, North Carolina: A blueberry drops in reference to the town's annual blueberry festival. Eastover, North Carolina: A three-foot tall, thirty-pound wooden flea is dropped. Charlotte, North Carolina: A lighted crown is raised, representing Charlotte's nickname as "The Queen City". Charlotte Center City Partners produces the festivities. Marion, North Carolina: A five-foot tall illuminated gold nugget drops into a large doughnut. The event is hosted by the Marion Rotary Club with support and sponsorship from many local organizations and businesses. Morehead City, North Carolina: A "kids' crab pot drop" is lowered at 6:00 p.m. local time during December 31, 2017. Mount Olive, North Carolina: The New Year's Eve Pickle is lowered down the Mt. Olive Pickle Company flagpole at 7pm EST, midnight Greenwich Mean Time. Raleigh, North Carolina: A 900-pound copper-and-steel acorn, designed by sculptor David Benson to celebrate the city's 1992 Bicentennial and Raleigh's nickname, “The City of Oaks”, is lowered by a crane. The event has since become one of the busiest New Year's celebrations in the United States with roughly 40,000 attending each year and an attendance record of 80,000 set in 2012. In years when the Carolina Hurricanes play at home on New Year's Eve, PNC Arena holds its own New Year's Eve "puck drop" inside the arena for fans that attend the game. Ohio Chagrin Falls, Ohio: A ball of