‘Possum Drop' rings in new year in Tallapoosa (Atlanta: activities, celebrities)

[tonygeorgia]

If you are looking to get out of Atlanta tomorrow for NYE, here is an event you might be interested in



New York City has its fabled dropping of the ball on New Year's Eve in Times Square. Atlanta has its own version, the Peach Drop, at Underground Atlanta.

Neither is a match for the west Georgia hamlet of Tallapoosa, which will ring in the new year with the Possum Drop.

No need to call PETA, it's not a real possum, but a stuffed one, and it will be lowered at midnight inside a lighted ball from one of the town's oldest buildings, according to the official Possum Drop website.

And, just like the Times Square celebration, which features celebrities like Lady Gaga and Justin Beiber, there will be stars at the Possum Drop as well: radio personality Rhubarb Jones, the band Cotton Road and -- of course -- an Elvis impersonator (Eric Schneider).

The event officially kicks off at 7 p.m., although there are activities throughout the day, including music, vendors and "Elvis sightings," in which Schneider, in full Elvis regalia, will make visits to local businesses.

The climax, of course, will come at midnight when the stuffed possum, named Spencer, is lowered in downtown Tallapoosa (formerly known as Possum Snout).

“Hopefully, it will be a fun day. We’re expecting a lot of people,” Tallapoosa Planning Coordinator Patrick Clarey told the Tallapoosa Journal.