Pensacola, FL

To celebrate the New Year and the Gulf Coast, this aluminum pelican with a 20-foot wingspan drops at midnight to the delight of the crowd of about 50,000. Come for the kid-friendly countdown at 8 p.m. to watch as it lifts off to its 100-foot-tall perch, or wait until it drops at midnight. Downtown Pensacola; Palafox Street and Government Street; pensacolapelicandrop.com. —Lyndsey Matthews