MOUNT OLIVE —The Mount Olive New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop has been named among the 10 best New Year’s Eve Drops for 2024, for the second year in a row.
The Pickle Drop returns for its 25th edition Tuesday, December 31 at the University of Mount Olive with its traditional early countdown at the stroke of 7 o’clock “midnight.”
USA Today announced the top 10 winners from its Readers Choice Awards earlier this month. The New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop ranked 9th among 20 nominated events as determined by online voters. The event placed seventh in 2023.
“We are so excited to have picked up this national recognition for two years in a row,” said Lynn Williams, company spokesperson. “The Pickle Drop is just a really special event for us, and we are so proud to present it each year.”
The Pickle Drop will be staged in front of the University of Mount Olive’s Kornegay Arena, and the Mount Olive Volunteer Fire Department will again assist with Tower 23, its ladder truck. From the tower, the glowing New Year’s Eve Pickle descends into a giant pickle jar.
The event continues its signature early schedule: everything gets underway at 5 p.m., and the pickle descends at 7.
A fireworks display immediately follows, and, the whole thing is over by 7:30.
“Our early evening celebration makes it ideal for families and older adults,” Williams said, “and then there’s everyone else who wants to celebrate New Year’s Eve and still be home in bed well before midnight.”
Live music will be presented by ThrowBack Collaboration Band, which performs old school rhythm and blues.
The evening will also feature free pickles, food trucks, and a chance to win door prizes for those who contribute to the annual canned food drive for Food Bank of Central & Eastern NC.
The New Year’s Eve Pickle Drop, first held in 1999 and attended by a handful of Mt. Olive Pickle employees, annually draws several thousand.
In business since 1926 in its hometown of Mount Olive,
Mt. Olive Pickle Company manufactures the best-selling brand of pickles, peppers and relishes in the U.S.
