The ball will sparkle in red, white and blue to usher in the new year and kick off months of celebrations for the nation’s birthday. And a second confetti drop will happen at 12:04 a.m. on New Year’s Day, America250 chair Rosie Rios told Fox News.
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A second ball drop event is being planned for July 3, the eve of the nation’s birthday, “in the same beautiful style that Times Square knows how to do it,” Rios said.
It will mark the first time in 120 years there will be ball drop in Times Square that doesn’t occur on New Year’s Eve, she said.
America250, One Times Square, and Times Square Alliance Reveal Ball Designed in Honor of Nation’s Semiquincentennial Year (AP)
The celebration will come ahead of months of big and small events to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
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The group worked with the Times Square Alliance business district and One Times Square, the building from where the ball is dropped, to make the changes to this year’s ceremonies.
A patriotic crystal ball will be used for the New Year’s Eve ball drop in Times Square to usher in 2026, months ahead of America’s 250th birthday. (AP)
The ball drop has occurred in Times Square nearly every year since 1907. The only years when no ball drop occurred were 1942 and 1943, when New York City instituted a nightly “dimout” during World War II to protect itself from attacks.
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American250 will participate in the New Years Day Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, with a float themed “Soaring Onward Together for 250 Years.”
President Donald Trump has also announced the “Freedom 250” initiative to coordinate additional events for the 250th anniversary.
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The events, she said, are an opportunity to unite a politically divided nation.
“If we can find something for everyone … having those menus of options that people can pick and choose how they want to participate,” she told the AP. “That’s how we’re going to get to engaging 350 million Americans.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
* Original Article:
https://www.foxnews.com/us/times-square-ball-goes-red-white-blue-americas-250th-birthday
