Eastover to drop a ... flea .. on New Year's

North Carolina is known for its sometimes wacky New Year's Eve celebrations: the shooters in Cherryville ("Cherr-vul"), the dropping of a pickle in (obviously) Mount Olive, etc.

But this one might take the cake.

The newest addition to the dropping tradition is a 30-pound insect. The eastern North Carolina town of Eastover will drop a flea made of fabric, foam, wire and wood Dec. 31 from Flea Hill.

The ceremony will include a storyteller recounting the legend of Flea Hill just before midnight. An Eastover native wrote nearly 50 years ago that Flea Hill was infested with the pests.

Any other fun New Year's celebrations?

What will you be dropping (or raising) this New Year's?

New York has perhaps the most famous "dropping" on New Year's Eve when the Big Apple descends on, well, the Big Apple. But what other things get dropped across North Carolina on New Year's?

Here in Raleigh, we are quite proud of our giant acorn.

Mount Olive drops a pickle while Carolina Beach -- appropriately enough -- drops a beach ball.

They like to shoot in the air in Cherryville.

Charlotte will be trying something new this year. The Queen City's First Night event will climax with the raising -- yes, raising -- of a crown.

[T]he Queen's lighted crown will be hoisted 25 feet just before midnight Thursday to part the curtain on the new year [says the Charlotte Observer].

"We like the symbolism of hope's rising," said Moira Quinn, spokeswoman for Charlotte Center City Partners, the organization producing the festivities. "It's the rising of a new year, and shutting the door on a year that was tough on a lot of people."

So what about your city or town? How will you ring in the new year?

Unique ways to ring in the New Year

Yes, I know: New Year's Eve has come and gone. The confetti has (hopefully) been all cleared, and the hangovers are over.

Nonetheless I wanted to highlight the unique ways that several North Carolina places ring in the New Year.

Here in Raleigh, we like to lower a giant acorn down from a crane on Fayetteville Street. It's a strange mix of appropriateness (the acorn), urban (the setting) and hokey (the crane). In short, I love it.

But according to this report, there are some traditions that are even more, um, interesting.

"Mount Olive has the pickle drop. ... The pickle drop features a 3-foot lighted pickle replica lowered down the flagpole of Mt. Olive Pickle Co. for the 10th year. ...

"Brasstown has a possum drop" where a live animal, "in a cage, is gently lowered" from atop a country store's roof.

Another N.C. New Year's tradition is Cherryville's shooters. "The New Year's Shooters preserve the area's German heritage by honoring the custom of beginning each year with a chant and the shooting of muskets," according to Wikipedia. There is even a statue in "Chirville" recognizing the event.

Know of some other interesting New Year's traditions?