Hawaii Pineapples Drop It Like It’s…the New Year

Very much like the New Years ball that drops in Times Square, Hawaii has its own version for the stroke of midnight: a gigantic lighted pineapple. And there are two! The one at the Mililani Town Center coincides with the ball drop in New York (7 p.m. Hawaii time), while the other at the Kahala Resort & Spa drops at Hawaii’s midnight.

Although both vary in size, they’re still very much pineapples. The 12-feet tall by 6-feet round Mililani pineapple drops from a 40-foot pole. It had its first annual drop to ring in the 2013 new year. The Kahala pineapple, on the other hand, is slightly larger at about 14-feet tall, 350-pounds and drops from the hotel’s rooftop. This one started dropping in 2010.

While Hawaii’s New Years’ drops aren’t nearly as jam packed with people as it is in New York, there’s still a good turnout every year. The nice thing about Hawaii’s pineapple drop is that you don’t have to worry about losing small children in the crowds. The island events include games, food booths, live music and clowns – very family-friendly stuff.

If you were really hardcore into pineapple drops, you could watch the Mililani one drop first then jet over to the other side of Oahu to watch the pineapple drop at the Kahala resort. Either way, it’s always fun to ring in a new year with unique traditions (and tropical fruit).

Posted by: Bruce Fisher on Jan 4, 2013