Pennsylvania has several amazing locales to herald in the New Year. Get ready to sing a hearty rendition of Auld Lang Syne at these fun, festive, and sometimes a bit quirky PA New Year’s Eve drops, rated among the best in the nation! You don’t have to take just our word. After all, two PA drops are ranked among the top 10 by USA Today’s coveted Readers Choice awards for the 10 Best New Year’s Eve drops in the country!
Highmark First Night Pittsburgh
Highmark First Night Pittsburgh raises the Future of Pittsburgh Ball in the culmination of the six-hour celebration throughout the downtown’s renowned 14-block Cultural District—inside theaters, galleries and unique spaces, and along city streets with four outdoor performance stages. Acclaimed national artists and Pittsburgh’s vibrant arts community ring in the New Year with live music, dance, theater, visual arts, comedy, magic, kids’ activities, and a signature parade along with Pyrotechnico Fireworks displays at 6 p.m. and midnight. The event is free and open to everyone! indoor galleries and select performance venues will require free tickets for entry.
First Night® Bethlehem
Rated among the best New Year’s Eve drops in the nation by USA Today Readers Choice awards, First Night® Bethlehem “peeps” with pride. Held at the iconic SteelStacks, the celebration features a wide variety of music and art before the signature 400-pound, illuminated Marshmallow PEEPS® Chick travels down toward the excited crowd to ring in the New Year at 5:35 p.m. on both Dec. 30 and 31 followed by a stunning display of fireworks. Note: Tickets, which are required and cost $5 per person, can be purchased online.
Lebanon's Annual New Year's Eve Bologna Drop
It wouldn’t be New Year’s Eve in southcentral Pennsylvania without the famous Pennsylvania Dutch bologna descending from the sky in its namesake county. At 7:00 p.m., join the excitement in Lebanon with the crowds count down the seconds with the famous 16-foot Lebanon Bologna Drop coming to a stop at the stroke of midnight.
Crayola’s Jazzberry Jammin' New Year's Eve
Crayola Experience in Easton has the perfect way for little ones to join in the New Year’s celebration by ringing in the New Year with lots of fun family activities all throughout the day! There will be a streamer launch complete with a countdown to ring in the New Year at noon and 2:00 p.m., and, of course, loads of colorful activities throughout the day! Star in your own New Year’s coloring page, and then craft your own 2024 New Year’s crown. Closing at 6:00 p.m., adults will have plenty of time to get the little ones home and tucked in bed before their own celebrations begin to ring in the New Year at midnight!
Kennett Square’s Annual Midnight in the Square
Ring in the New Year at the “Mushroom Capital of the World,” Kennett Square. Watch as a glowing 700-pound stainless steel mushroom is lowered to count down the New Year as a nod to the town’s acres of fungus fields. Rated by USA Today as one of the 10 best New Year’s Eve drops in the nation, the annual Midnight in the Square event features music, food, and entertainment culminating with the midnight mushroom drop!
Hershey’s Annual Hershey’s Kiss Raise
Begin the New Year at the “Sweetest Place on Earth!®” with Hershey’s Kiss Raise. Named by USA Today Travel as one of the great places for a family-friendly New Year’s Eve, the well-known chocolate town pulls out all the stops for its New Year’s Eve celebration with live bands, great food and drinks, and loads of family-friendly activities. Starting at 7:30, enjoy bubble wrap stomps and a dance party at the community hour in ChocolateTown Square. Then, at 11:59 p.m., the Hershey’s Kiss is raised above the sweet-toothed crowd with downtown revelers enjoying an immersive laser and pyrotechnics display that everyone can see – even if it’s foggy!
Pottsville’s Yuengling© Beer Bottle
New Year's Eve in Pottsville is marked by the raising of the Yuengling© beer bottle to the top of the flagpole at Garfield Square. Ring in the New Year with a toast to the oldest brewery in America.
Harrisburg’s Annual Strawberry Drop
Returning to North 2nd Street, Harrisburg’s the New Year’s Eve festivities and signature Strawberry Drop kicks off at 9 p.m. with the Kid’s Glow Party inside City Hall featuring a 1,000 balloon drop, face painting, balloon animals, crafts, and free snacks for the kids with all the activities illuminated with blacklights, followed by the Strawberry Drop and fireworks outside at midnight. Be sure to check explorehbg.com/NYE for a list of New Year’s Eve dining specials, parties, and more happening throughout the City.
Shippensburg’s Drop the Anchor New Year's Celebration
Welcome 2024 in style at Shippensburg’s Drop the Anchor New Year’s Celebration. Festivities begin 8 p.m. with bounce houses, food trucks, New Year’s Eve favors, Maxie’s Brew House serving up cold brews to those age 21 or older, and a live disc jockey keeping you entertained spinning the classics to the latest hits. At midnight, you can watch the Times Square ball drop on the jumbotron as you welcome your first moments of 2024 at this free and fun family event.
Lower Allen Township Pants Drop
We bet you haven’t heard of a pants drop before! As the clock strikes midnight, the town’s signature, five-foot-tall yellow trousers – a shout-out to nearby Yellow Breeches Creek – are dropped to ring in the new year. Baby Breeches, the children’s countdown and drop, will be at 10 p.m. for the whole family to enjoy.
York’s Annual White Rose Drop
Attendees of York’s New Year’s Eve celebration are sure to have a blast ringing in 2024 . Join the crowd enjoying live music until midnight when a white rose descends from the sky in Continental Square, symbolic of the War of the Roses between Lancaster and York, followed by a colorful fireworks display.
Mechanicsburg’s Wrench Drop
The town celebrates the New Year from 9 p.m. to 12:20 a.m. with the annual dropping of a wrench on Main Street. The tradition commemorates the borough’s founders — mechanics who settled in the area to make and repair wagons in the early 19th century. There will be live music, lots of fun, and even glass-blowing glasses starting at 9:00 p.m.
Follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Pinterest, and Instagram to stay up-to-date on even more great ideas and places to visit around our state.