Last-ditch effort being made for Macon New Year's Eve event
A last-minute effort is being made to host a New Year's Eve event in downtown Macon, minus the signature ball drop and fireworks display.
The Macon-Bibb County Commission approved a resolution Tuesday to spend up to $5,500 on a celebration that would help fill the void left by Monday's official announcement of the cancellation of the New Year's Eve Cherry Blossom Ball Drop.
Whether or not the event takes off depends on the county finding someone to manage the program.
The resolution mentions the Cherry Blossom Festival and NewTown Macon as two organizations that would be sought out to manage the event.
Proposed by Commissioner Al Tillman, the resolution drew some opposition about whether the event could be pulled off with just a two-week turnaround. Also, commissioners raised questions about whether Macon-Bibb County should operate the event as Tillman originally proposed.
The event would feature a DJ, music and other entertainment. Tillman said he had spoken early Tuesday with NewTown and Cherry Blossom Festival officials and that they support his effort for a scaled-down celebration.
"This is one time a year that we can show off our downtown," he said prior to Tuesday's commission meeting. "We're doing so much downtown that at least at the end of the year we should have a special event."
The final tally for the amended resolution was 7-2 with Commissioners Scotty Shepherd and Bert Bivins voting no.
The celebration would take place the street outside the Macon-Bibb County Government Center and in Rosa Parks Square. In previous years, the event has been held outside Terminal Station.
Tillman said he was able to get a $2,000 donation Tuesday for the event that he estimated would cost about $7,500. It was brought to the commissioners' attention through media reports this week that the event was not taking place this year.
Tillman said he would reach out to various radio companies such as Cumulus Media to see if they could help manage it.
Bivins said he voted against it because it seems too rushed.
"I'd love to see it get done, but I'd like to see it get done right," Bivins said after Tuesday's meeting.
Earlier in the day, Cherry Blossom Festival President and CEO Jake Ferro said his organization was unable to host this year's event without help producing and directing it. The ball drop and fireworks have traditionally been a Cherry Blossom Festival event.
The Advocacy Resource Center of Macon is not able to help this year because it's holding another event that evening. Meanwhile, after ARC bowed out, another co-presenter, iHeartRadio, said it would need assistance directing the event, Ferro said.
"iHeartRadio is a tremendous supporter of the event and the ARC was a great partner, too, but (ARC) went in a different direction with their fundraiser being held at another location," Ferro said.
Mayor Robert Reichert said NewTown Macon has expressed some interest in taking over the event next year.
"They didn't feel like they had enough time this year to get everything done to make it the kind of event they want to make it," Reichert said during a pre-commission meeting.
To contact writer Stanley Dunlap, call 744-4623 or find him on Twitter
This story was originally published December 15, 2015 at 8:33 PM with the headline "Last-ditch effort being made for Macon New Year's Eve event ."