Flagstaff, Ariz., home to new year pine cone drop

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP) — New York City may have its Waterford Crystal Ball dropping down in Times Square to welcome in the new year, but an Arizona mountain town has something more unique —— a 6-foot-tall, 70-pound pine cone.

The oversized LED-lighted aluminum creation hangs from the roof of a downtown hotel as the glamorous high-tech centerpiece of Flagstaff’s holiday glow.

Weatherford Hotel owner Sam Green tells The Arizona Daily Sun they will ring in the new year twice Friday: at 10 p.m. when New York does and again at midnight Arizona time.