Ring in the New Year in Eastport with a Sardine & Maple Leaf Drop

EASTPORT, Maine (WABI) - Some cities and towns across the world have some quirky ways of ringing in the New Year.

Eastport, the easternmost city in the US, is no exception.

They take an international take and celebrate twice, one hour apart.

Since Canada is on Atlantic Time, they welcome the New Year one hour earlier.

The town of Eastport celebrates by dropping a wooden Canadian Maple Leaf from the Tides Institute Building as 11 p.m. approaches.

Revelers dress up and sing along to “O Canada.”

When the clock strikes midnight, an 8-foot, 20-pound sardine sculpture will fall from the sky in front of the Tides Institute building.

The event began in 2005 and has certainly put the town on the map.

”There are people who go to all the different New Year’s celebrations. There is a peach in Georgia. There is a high heel in Florida. There is lots of different kind of fun celebrations so we’ve been on those lists of “10 Fun New Year’s Celebrations,” said Kristin McKinlay, Tides Institute & Museum of Art. “We’ve had people travel for this event in the past. We’ve had people come from Georgia, Ohio, and further distance in Atlantic Canada so it becomes a destination event and something we hope people come down and have a great time in the winter.”>

If you cannot make it to Eastport on New Year’s Eve, the celebration will be live streamed.

There you can also find a full list of events which all get underway on Friday.

Copyright 2022 WABI. All rights reserved.