Kennebunk organizations get ready to ring in 2020 with a series of events, capped by a Wild Blueberry Drop from the steeple of the First Parish UU Church, downtown. Courtesy Photo
KENNEBUNK — It may be just shy of two weeks until Christmas, but it’s not too early to plan for New Year’s Eve.
For those who look forward to ringing in the coming year, New Year’s Eve Kennebunk, held downtown, is fast approaching.
Townspeople have a unique way of celebrating, the town holds a wild Maine blueberry drop – early for those who want to home before the clock strikes 12 and also at the traditional midnight time frame. In addition, celebrants can go skating downtown at the Waterhouse Center, listen to music, and a whole lot more.
This is the fifth year of the New Year’s Eve event, a collaboration between the town of Kennebunk, Brick Store Museum and First Parish Unitarian Universalist Church.
Dropping a big wild “blueberry” is not as odd as one might think. In Yarmouth, on New Year’s Eve, people at the UU Church drop Steamer, the clam mascot, from the church steeple.
In Mobile, Alabama, a big, 600-pound, electronic Moon Pie is dropped at midnight.
In Plymouth, Wisconsin, it’s a hunk of cheese … really.
Not surprisingly, in Atlanta, Georgia, a 600-pound “peach” was the item of choice to be dropped on New Year’s Eve for 30 years. However, it is on hiatus this year – the mayor told news outlets the tradition would be reevaluated.
In Eastport, Maine’s easternmost city (and not to be confused with Lubec, the easternmost town, where it seems they don’t drop anything), there’s a maple leaf drop — as a nod to its Canadian neighbors — at 11 p.m. Eastern (midnight, Atlantic time), and a sardine at midnight, hailing Eastport’s once-bustling herring industry.
In Kennebunk, it’s a wild blueberry figurine — a nod, perhaps, to the blueberry plains nearby.
There is a series of events leading up to the blueberry drop.
Teams can sign up for the annual Cornhole Tournament online at: www.nyekbk.org. Bags start flying at 1:30 p.m. at Town Hall. Cost is $40 per team, with proceeds to benefit local families in need, and there are prizes for winners.
At the First Parish Church there will be board games, dancing, and fire pits if the weather permits.
At the Brick Store Museum: Ray Calabro will perform live starting at 7 p.m., at the museum’s Program Center. There is free admission to the museum from 7 to 11 p.m.
As well, people of all ages are invited to lace up their skates for an evening gliding around the ice at Waterhouse Center.
Later, from the steeple of the First Parish Church, an Early Bird Blueberry Drop takes place at 9 p.m. and the Wild Blueberry Drop will ring in the New Year at midnight.
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