Pittsburgh prepares to ring in new year with Future of Pittsburgh Ball
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - In just a few short hours the ball will drop in New York City's Time Square to ring in the new year. But here in Pittsburgh, as per tradition, the ball on the Highmark Building will rise.
It's called the Future of Pittsburgh Ball and as midnight approaches on New Year's Eve, it will be raised high atop this pole on the Highmark Building here in downtown Pittsburgh while thousands look on.
Crews began testing the ball early Saturday morning to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. And Sarah Aziz, from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, said that they are very excited to hoist this ball into the sky.
"We're so excited to raise the Future of Pittsburgh Ball and welcome 2023 here in Pittsburgh. The ball right behind me is like 1,000 pounds, almost 75 feet, recycled steel. This is its the fiftieth year. We are so so very excited," Aziz said. Aziz serves as Director of Festival Management at Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.
Highmark's First Night event starts at 6 p.m. and it is free and open to everybody. Throughout the downtown area, there will be things like magic shows, food trucks, live music, and an ice maze. There will also be a face painting, live graffiti art, a parade, and fireworks to go along with the ball raising.
And when the starts to go up, that's when you will start to see the lights going crazy.
"The pattern does change. The lighting pattern is a two-minute pattern. The set will start at 11:58 p.m. It will play for a minute and then it will start rising and then get to the top at midnight. We work with the great folks at Technique and they program it. They take care of it. They make it shinny and beautiful for everybody every year," Aziz added.
And if you are wondering why other cities drop a ball on New Year's Eve and why we here in Pittsburgh raise a ball, Sarah has a good answer.
"I can not let you know why people decide to drop balls at midnight when going into the new year, but I can tell you that Pittsburgh's ball raises because we are a city on the rise," Aziz said.
Of course, if you can't be here in person tonight to watch all the festivities and the ball rise at Highmark's First Night Celebration, you can tune into KDKA starting at 10 p.m. and watch all the fun from your home.
Either way, it should be a fun time. Happy New Year, everyone!
