Crews worked quickly over the weekend to build a new strawberry to drop in Harrisburg at midnight after the original one fell and broke during tests last week.
With windy conditions, extra cables were put in place to ensure the new strawberry lowers as it’s supposed to in the final 60 seconds of 2013.
This year’s event in Downtown Harrisburg marks the 25th anniversary of the strawberry being lowered to usher in the new year, said Blake Lynch of the Harrisburg Hilton.
The city hosted a family-friendly event inside and outside City Hall with bands playing for a few hours leading up to midnight. Inside, kids enjoyed activities such as balloon making and story telling.
Meanwhile, bars and restaurants along 2nd Street spent the day getting ready for thousands of people to descend on downtown.
“We have a light show, DJ. We’re passing out masks. We are doing a free champagne toast at midnight and expect it to be one of the busiest nights this year,” said Josiah Ferris, manager of Ceolta’s Irish Pub.