GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Not everyone can squeeze into the Big Apple’s Times Square to see the ball drop as we enter a new decade, so communities around Wisconsin are taking the celebrations into their own hands.
Folks around Northeast Wisconsin – and the state in general – are ringing in the New Year with all different kinds of events and drops. We’ll take a look at some of the biggest parties around the Badger State.
Let’s start close to home with the biggest local 2020 kickoff party, the TT NYE in the Titletown District. The event runs from 6:00 p.m. through 1:00 a.m., with activities galore.
“You can actually ring in the New Year on our skating rink, we have skating through 12:30 a.m.,” says Titletown Programs and Market Coordinator Mallory Steinberg, “We’ll have in conjunction with the skating rink, a silent disco. We’ll have two DJs spinning music live, but you won’t be able to hear it in the park unless you check out headsets. So people skating on the ice rink with have headsets that are lit up according to the different stations.”
Tubing on Ariens Hill is also extended until 11:00 p.m. for TT NYE. Music and LED lights will be a major theme among the numerous activities around the Titletown District.
“Drinks will be available for purchase from an LED bar, that’s where WIXX will be hosting the event. There will be some indoor games too. Virtual simulation as well as a giant LiteBrite – so that classic childhood favorite, but supersized,” Steinberg says, “There will be ice carving, more great photos ops with LED swings, a photo booth, and then some giant games as well. So really just a lot of activities happening throughout our whole space as well as strolling entertainment with LED lights.”
Staying warm is another important element of celebrating the New Year. TT NYE has that covered as well.
“Another big element that we’re bringing in is a heated tent, which will be on our front plaza off of Ridge Road. We’ll have live entertainment in that tent with two bands – the first one is starting at 6 p.m., the second at 10 p.m.,” says Steinberg.
And no New Year’s celebration would really be complete without a countdown and a drop – or in this case – a launch.
“We top it all off with a countdown at midnight. That will be projected onto the west side of Lambeau Field. New this year, we’re having a football launch. It’s kind of like our lights show, but a different take on it. Then it will end with fireworks at midnight,” Steinberg tells WTAQ News, “The football launch is like our version of the ball drop. Starting at 11:00 p.m., we’ll give people the countdown as to what timing is actually happening. We have a complimentary champagne toast in our heated tent at 11:45 p.m., but only while supplies last.”
Parking will be available in the Titletown lot on the corner of Ridge Road and Lombardi Avenue. Once that fills up, Lots 5 and 6 on the west side of Lambeau Field will be open as well.
We’ll continue the adventure into New Years’ Eve celebrations by taking the trek down Interstate 41.
Our first stop will be along College Avenue in Appleton. That’s where we find the seventh annual “Mile of Music: New Years’ Encore Eve” at the Red Lion Paper Valley Hotel. A handful of bands from the festival this past summer are returning for another show.
“We run basically from 8 p.m. to just past midnight with four co-headlining bands from across the country. We have pop-up music in the hallways from some of our local artists and we also have a special guest host for the evening, which was a performing duo from the festival. It’s just a full night of music and other fun you see on New Year’s Eve,” Mile of Music Executive Producer Dave Willems tells WTAQ News, “We have a champagne toast right before midnight, we also have a really cool balloon drop that happens right at midnight. So we don’t have a ball drop, but there are about a thousand balloons that drop out of the ceiling. We just have a lot of fun with it.”
You’ll need a ticket to attend this event though. You can find them online for $30 until 5:00 p.m. when they jump to $35. You can also purchase a ticket in a bundle package with a room reservation for the night at the Red Lion Paper Valley Hotel.
Our next stop is just a few minutes further south along the interstate, taking Exit 291 over the Roland Kampo Bridge to make our way into Menasha.
“The number one place to be is in Times Square, New York. The number two place to be is Curtis Reed Square here in Downtown Menasha,” says James Taylor. He’s the president of Community Forward Incorporated, who sponsors The First Eve event.
This will be the 28th year for Menasha’s ball drop in the square. Prior to the countdown, there will be music and dancing. That will all be followed by fireworks over the Fox River.
“The weather looks like it’s going to be fabulous. 30 degrees? You can’t beat that in Wisconsin at midnight,” Taylor says. He urges people to get out and celebrate with others in the community rather than staying at home by yourself.
We continue south along I-41 for the third stop. But this one isn’t quite as orchestrated as the aforementioned celebrations.
Oshkosh will likely be full of jubilant partiers as 2019 ends, but they might not all be in the same spot.
“Everyone’s doing their own thing. There’s no one big event for the city for New Year’s, but you’ll find specials for dinner at different places and there is a lot going on,” says Justin DeJager, the Marketing Manager for Visit Oshkosh.
The downtown Main Street strip has several restaurants and bars that are already planning and promoting special deals and parties for New Year’s Eve.
The individual parties of Oshkosh end our jaunt through the Fox Valley, but we can’t leave out the more unique celebrations around the state!
We’ll start with an event that was likely proposed by a true Wisconsinite. The Plymouth Big Cheese Drop.
“We have a thriving cheese industry. So in honor of that, we decided to have a cheese-centric event,” says Tehya Wachuta from the Plymouth Art Center, “Dennis Schwartz came up with the idea of the cheese drop as a tribute to our history with cheese, which goes back to the 1800’s.”
The Plymouth Art Center has been hosting the event since it began in 2007. The original cheese wedge was built out of styrofoam, weighing in around 80 pounds. It was revamped in 2011 to be sturdier and was built out of metal. The fire department still lowers the cheese every year.
“We drop the cheese actually at 10 p.m., so the kids that come can see the cheese drop if they aren’t able to stay up until midnight. Then we have a champagne toast at midnight,” Wachuta says, “We do hand out Sartori BellaVitano cheese wedges to the first 200 families that attend the event.”
While the big cheese is the main attraction, the event is also an event for socializing and features live music throughout the night.
There’s also the Door County Cherry Drop and New Year’s Eve celebration. The new tradition is in its third year. A large lit-up cherry is lowered as they count down to the new year along the main drag in Sister Bay. The event also includes fireworks and live music.
The final party on our list is on the opposite side of the state in Prairie du Chien with Carp Fest. That’s right, there is the annual New Year’s Eve Droppin’ of the Carp. The tradition includes fishing a carp out of the Mississippi River and freezing it. The fish is then dubbed “Lucky” and decorated with makeup and lights before it’s lowered from a crane as the countdown to the New Year comes. The free party begins at 8:00 p.m. in the city’s downtown and on St. Feriole Island.
While this is not a complete list of all events around Northeast Wisconsin or the state as a whole, it’s a good handful of highlights we’ll see around the state this year.
Happy New Year from all of us here at WTAQ!
