Why I Love Local News: N.C. towns greet new year with giant pickle, flea

Update 2:45 p.m. ET: BREAKING NEWS BULLETIN: The Mount Olive Pickle Drop will be live streamed! (http://malexj.tk/k9; 3:45 p.m. ET)

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I, um, I remember the Brasstown Possum.

In North Carolina, nothing says “Happy New Year” like a giant pickle. Except maybe a giant flea.

Towns and cities across the state are planning to welcome 2011 with their own distinct variations on the world-famous Times Square ball drop.

Raleigh will drop its famous acorn, while the Cumberland County town of Eastover will drop a 3-foot-tall, 30-pound flea made of fabric and wood.

A celebration in Kure Beach will include the dropping of a giant lighted beach ball. And in the Clay County community of Brasstown, people will gather for the annual lowering of the possum. …

Full story (AP via WNCN-TV/Raleigh, N.C.)