Move Over Times Square … Flagstaff’s Pinecone Rings in New Year

It’s almost time to ring in the New Year!  So, get out your horns, streamers and confetti.  But if you really want to do it right, there’s nothing like watching a 70-pound, 6-foot-tall, well-lit metallic pinecone lower into a crowd of thousands.  You can join them as they bundle up and count down the much anticipated annual pinecone drop in downtown Flagstaff  where the gold and silver aluminum pinecone drops from the balcony of the historic Weatherford hotel.

Merely a random thought launched at a Weatherford Hotel management meeting back in 1999, hotel owners and husband and wife team, Henry Taylor and Sam Green wondered how they could mark such a momentous occasion as the year 2000. They considered Times Square in New York, where the Big Apple drops a giant lighted apple.  They realized that Flagstaff sits amidst the largest acreage of ponderosa pines in the world. Well, it was obvious. As 2000 dawned, a giant pinecone lowered from the top of the Weatherford Hotel. Take that, Times Square!

With some creative ingenuity, paint, a few lights and lots of pinecones, a tradition was born.  With each year the pinecone experiences transformations and upgrades. This year it has been upgraded with a computerized LED light system.

The giant pinecone has even earned a spot in the city’s annual light parade, standing proudly on the back of a flatbed. 

For their beloved celebration, families arrive early and set up lawn chairs next to the dropping point. The party kicks off with live entertainment in the intersection of Leroux and Aspen at 8:00 p.m. The pinecone is first dropped at 10 p.m. to accommodate families, then lowered again at midnight with fireworks wrapping up the event.

The remaining 51 weeks a year, the giant pinecone is a lawn ornament at Henry and Sam’s home.  They claim it’s pretty popular with the neighbors.

When: 8 p.m. Thursday, December 31.
The cone will drop at 10 p.m. and midnight.

Where: Heritage Square, Flagstaff
The square is on Aspen Avenue between Leroux and San Francisco streets.

Hotel Weatherford
23 N. Leroux Street, Flagstaff (map)

Admission: Free

Details: 928-779-1919, 928-607-2347

Photo courtesy of NHO News