Fulton to ask for private help keeping Atlanta’s Peach Drop alive
Fulton County doesn’t want a three-decade Atlanta holiday tradition to go bad.
Robb Pitts, county commission chairman, says he will call on the private sector to partner with the county to keep the Peach Drop alive for future New Year’s Eve celebrations. Although this year’s drop is cancelled, Pitts will make his plea for the fuzzy favorite Monday morning.
The 800-pound peach first dropped in 1989 at Underground Atlanta, a Georgia take on the New York City Times Square ball drop. Over the years, it drew as many as 100,000 people to enjoy the musical lineup and party that precedes the drop.
But in 2017, a South Carolina real estate developer purchased Underground Atlanta from the city of Atlanta. So the city moved the Peach Drop to Woodruff Park for New Year’s 2017, but brought it back to Underground last year.
MORE | New Year's Eve 2019: Alternatives to the Peach Drop in metro Atlanta
In early November, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms confirmed fears — the drupe won't drop to don this new decade.
“We’re going to take a break, reevaluate, reexamine the location and how we plan it out,” she said. “And when it comes back, I promise you it will be bigger and better.”
A Fulton spokesman on Friday didn’t know the exact parameters of the partnership that Pitts is seeking, nor if there’s a specific pricetag.
For those who are missing their annual visit with the peach, the county will have it on hand for photos from noon to 5 p.m. on Monday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday. They will be showing their peach through January, the county said.
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About the Author
Ben Brasch is the reporter tasked with keeping Fulton County government accountable. The Florida native moved to Atlanta for a job with The AJC. If there's something important to you going on in Fulton, he wants to know about it. Help him better metro Atlanta by dropping a line, anonymously or otherwise.
