Atlanta traditionally drops a peach at midnight for its New Year's Eve celebration.
The event is called the Peach Drop, a reference to Georgia's nickname as the Peach State. A large peach-shaped object is lowered in downtown Atlanta during the final countdown, making it the city's distinctive answer to ball drops and other symbolic descents.
The Peach Drop began in 1989 and has been associated with Underground Atlanta, the downtown shopping and entertainment district. In some years, the celebration has moved locations or been canceled because of construction, weather, public-safety concerns, or other circumstances. The exact program is therefore not identical every year.
Atlanta's peach is not the same event as New York City's Times Square Ball Drop. The shared idea is a timed descent at midnight, but the object and city identity are different. Georgia's peach symbolism also appears in the state's official nickname and many local products.