New Year's Eve: Midnight happenings

A glittering ball in Times Square is not the only thing that drops at midnight on New Year's Eve.

In Key West, Fla., a 6-foot-tall manmade conch shell descends to the roof of Sloppy Joe's Bar to mark the new year. But the island is also home to two other midnight descents on Dec. 31: a super-sized red high-heel shoe carrying drag queen Sushi at the Bourbon Street Pub-New Orleans House complex; and a pirate wench who descends from the top of the mast of the tall ship Liberty Clipper at the Historic Seaport.

In Atlanta, the 19th annual Peach Drop features an 800-pound peach made of fiberglass. The event, held in Underground Atlanta, a six-block retail and entertainment district, will be followed by fireworks and an explosion of confetti. Country singer Miranda Lambert will be on hand to entertain the crowd. Festivities start at noon that day for families, and continue until 4 a.m. as restaurants, bars and nightclubs in Kenny's Alley stay open to accommodate all-night revelers. Details at http://www.peachdrop.com.

In New Orleans, the celebration starts at 8:30 p.m. with partying and music in Jackson Square. At midnight a lighted gumbo pot drops from atop the Jax Brewery. Then a fireworks display lights up the night skies over the Mississippi. The revelry continues overnight in the nearby French Quarter, followed by college football on Jan. 1 with the Sugar Bowl game between Hawaii and Georgia.