Acorn drop in downtown Raleigh rings in 2025

Elaina Athans Image
Wednesday, January 1, 2025 5:18AM
Acorn drop and fireworks ring in 2025
Raleigh rings in the new year with the iconic acorn drop and fireworks downtown.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- As 2024 wound down on the East Coast, celebrations were already well underway across North Carolina.

In downtown Raleigh, the first of two acorn drops took place earlier Tuesday, but the second will ring in 2025 at the stroke of midnight.

People packed into City Plaza to see the event.

Raleigh's now-iconic acorn drop will ring in 2025 at the stroke of midnight.

Andrew Marshalls was one of those. He lives in Pennsylvania and makes it a point every year to drive his food truck nine hours down Interstate 95.

ALSO SEE | Bars, restaurants prepare for NYE parties in downtown Raleigh, for some, it's bittersweet

"It's crab mac and cheese," he said as he served up seafood dishes to end the year.

"I'm actually from North Carolina," Marshalls said. "So, any chance I get to come back, I usually take the chance I get to."

SEE ALSO | Top stories of 2024 across central North Carolina

The Fayetteville Street festivity is a night of nostalgia for Denise Furr.

She was nearly a teenager when she attended Raleigh's very first acorn drop in 1992.

SEE ALSO | Year in Review: Top 10 sports stories of 2024 in North Carolina

"It was finally something to celebrate in Raleigh that we could get excited about for New Year's Eve," Furr said.

She returned for the first time 32 years later and brought her children.

The event has grown enormously since the inaugural party.

Furr's children said they were enjoying the celebration and trying to make the most of the night.

Madeline and Nolan Furr said they looked forward to fireworks and staying up late.

Copyright © 2025 WTVD-TV. All Rights Reserved.