In the heart of Salemburg, citizens and town officials are gearing up for their own unorthodox, but highly anticipated, annual New Year’s Eve celebration.
While citizens of New York will crowd the streets of Times Square to see the Constellation Ball drop to ring in the new year, down south in the town of Salemburg, folks like to celebrate the occasion in a different way. For the past four years, Salemburg has put their own spin on a New Year’s tradition in what they call “the heart drop.”
Instead of lowering a giant crystal ball, a crane helps to lower a giant heart that looks similar to a pinata with several light-up stars around it. The event was started by Mayor Joe Warren and believe it or not, a heart was not the first choice when choosing what to drop.
“Ever since I had been mayor, I had been trying to figure out what I wanted to drop and what I wanted to do for New Year’s,” recalled Warren. “I thought about a watermelon and thought about everything else until somebody came and said ‘Well why don’t y’all drop a heart?’ and I said, ‘Well, that’s what we’ll do!’”
According to Warren, the suggestion of dropping a heart came as a result of the town’s famous motto, “Small town, big heart.” As a result of the motto, a heart has often become synonymous with the town, acting almost as an unofficial mascot. At the event, there will be a DJ playing music for the crowd, as well as several tents in case of bad weather, and refreshments. The event, though held to ring in the new year actually starts well before then at 5 p.m. According to Warren, this is so that families can disperse afterwards to see the real ball drop on television.
“We’re gonna drop the heart at 7 p.m., then we’ll all go home and do what we need to do and watch the ball drop from New York at midnight,” said Warren. “I think the event really shows that Salemburg’s got a big heart. It’s made up of family and friends, and this just gives us a time where we can all come together and have a good time. There’s a lot of new folks that just moved to town and this gives them a little something to do.”
For the mayor, the event also marks the end of a year of progress for the town and raises a glass to their future.
“We’ve grown a lot as a town in the last several years,” said Warren. “Our employees, our commissioners have done a great job and because of that, we’ve grown. We’ve improved our water systems, our sewer systems, we’re working on putting in a new public works building. In January or February, we’re putting in a new well. We’ve been so blessed this year and with getting grant money in to help us get some of this stuff done.”
According to Warren, the drop was originally going to take place at the new public works building, but the building is still being worked on. Instead, the event will be hosted at the Salemburg Town Hall building at 5 p.m.