{"id":380253,"date":"2025-12-31T22:18:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:18:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380253\/"},"modified":"2025-12-31T22:18:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-31T22:18:07","slug":"something-different-how-our-puck-drop-became-a-new-years-eve-tradition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/380253\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Something different\u2019: How our puck drop became a New Year\u2019s Eve tradition"},"content":{"rendered":"

‘The puck beat out the ball’: It all began with a poll question \u2014 and has quickly grown into a popular annual ritual for residents of all ages<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no hockey game scheduled, but a puck drop is set for the Downtown Plaza tonight.<\/p>\n

A six-plus foot steel hockey puck adorned in lights will be lowered to ring in 2026 for the second straight year \u2014 our city\u2019s unique take on the New Year\u2019s ball drop seen in other communities.<\/p>\n

While looking to bring something new to the community last year, the city put out a poll asking residents whether they\u2019d prefer a ball drop or puck drop for New Year\u2019s festivities.<\/p>\n

The community made its choice clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe puck beat out the ball,\u201d said Brent Lamming, deputy CAO.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou always think of a ball being dropped, and given that we’re in Sault Ste. Marie \u2014\u00a0we’re kind of a hockey hotbed \u2014\u00a0we thought we could do something different.\u201d<\/p>\n

As simply as that, a new tradition was born.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Built with locally sourced steel by the city\u2019s public works department, the large, illuminated puck is carefully stored throughout the year until it’s needed for the big night.<\/p>\n

The puck drop and the Downtown Plaza event are sponsored by GFL Environmental, PUC, and Steel Speed Inc.,\u00a0which will donate its crane to hoist the puck 80 feet into the air for the second straight year. It’s the same company that proudly hoists the Algoma Steel Christmas star<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout their involvement, it would make it a challenge, but they are glad to be involved in this,\u201d Lamming said. \u201cWe’re looking to continue this for many years to come as a tradition.\u201d<\/p>\n

After receiving \u201ctons\u201d of positive feedback about the puck drop on its social media page last year, Steel Speed Inc. looks forward to participating year after year, as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take pride in being a part of this great town, so we definitely will continue to do it as long as the city keeps having it,\u201d said Hayden Rollin-Taylor, a project manager with the company.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t expect anything in return. We just like to see the impact that it has.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tonight, like last year, there will be two puck drops for the community to witness.<\/p>\n

The first, at 8 p.m., will allow younger children to take part in the celebration, with the puck dropping for a second time to ring in the new year at midnight.<\/p>\n

Activities for kids, beverages for adults, skating, warming stations, and more will be available after the event kicks off at 6 p.m. and throughout the evening.\u00a0The Killer Hooks will also be hitting the stage with live music later in the evening.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do have warming barrels,\u201d added Lamming.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that this year it might be a little bit chillier than last year, but we’re hoping that with the warming barrels and areas to get out of the cold \u2026 (everyone) can enjoy the time that they\u2019re there.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘The puck beat out the ball’: It all began with a poll question \u2014 and has quickly grown…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":380254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[43,44,41,39,42,40],"class_list":{"0":"post-380253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-news","11":"tag-top-stories","12":"tag-topnews","13":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=380253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/380253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/380254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=380253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=380253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=380253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}