4 Quirky New Year’s Eve Countdowns in Ohio

A new year is a time for a fresh start. It’s when we make resolutions (that we really try our hardest to keep) like eating better, going to the gym and spending less time on our screens. As 2025 approaches, it calls for sending off 2024 in style. Instead of watching the ball drop in New York City on TV at home, pay a visit to these four towns to ring in the new year in ways that only they can. 

Chagrin Falls New Years Eve Popcorn Ball Drop | Dec. 31
Pop over to Chagrin Falls for a New Years Eve gathering that pairs a delightful celebration with a tasty snack that’s a favorite in town thanks to the Chagrin Falls Popcorn Shop. Festivities begin at 10:30 p.m., in Triangle Park, and include music, mini popcorn ball launches and more. Then when the countdown begins, the popcorn ball, (which is named Jupiter) makes her descent from the top of the flagpole.

Glass Town Countdown | Dec. 31
Lancaster has a rich glass heritage thanks to companies like Anchor Hocking and Gay Fad Studios. That heritage is celebrated in a dazzling way every Dec. 31. A giant glass ball made up of more than 700 individual blown-glass orbs serves as the centerpiece of the Glass Town Countdown in downtown Lancaster. Locals create the blown-glass pieces throughout the year at the Ohio Glass Museum, and the colorful collaboration is the centerpiece of a midnight countdown topped off by a fireworks show.

New Years Eve Walleye Madness @ Midnight | Dec. 31  
Check out this 600 pound, 20 foot-long fish drop in the Walleye Capital of the world in Port Clinton.  This huge celebration on Madison St. and East Perry Streets in Port Clinton starts in the afternoon with kid-friendly festivities like crafts, music, food and a minnow drop. Adults can enjoy the “bar hop with stops along the lakeshore and live music downtown before the main event of the night when Wylie Walleye drops to ring in 2025. The night concludes with a fireworks show over Lake Erie.

Sausage Drop | Dec. 31
The northwest Ohio village of Elmore drops an 18-foot sausage made out of lights during its annual New Year’s Eve countdown that began as a tribute to Tank’s Meats, a local institution since 1907. A countdown perfect for littles ones who can’t make it to midnight, the event runs from 4 to 6 p.m., at the Elmore Historical Society and includes snacks, bingo, a sausage-eating contest and live music culminating in the sausage drop and firework to cap off the evening.