1st ever Peach Fest replaces annual Peach Drop for NYE at Underground ATL
Peach Fest replaces Peach Drop for ATL NYE
While Atlanta residents won't ring in the New Year with Atlanta's Peach Drop celebration, an event is taking over the same venue, promising a different kind of good time to partygoers on New Year's Eve. Here's what to expect from the Peach Fest at Underground Atlanta.
ATLANTA - We are just days away from ringing in 2024 and with Atlanta's Peach Drop not happening this year, Underground Atlanta is moving forward with Atlanta Peach Fest.
"We are looking forward to hosting the first inaugural Peach Fest event down inside of Underground along with the other exciting public and private events that are happening with all of our tenants," said the special events manager for Underground Atlanta, Lyle Baldes.
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Baldes tells FOX 5 organizers are hoping to make it an annual event with music, entertainment, a red carpet, art and more.
Peach Fest 2023 at Underground Atlanta
When announced a few weeks ago, Underground mentioned a free fireworks show at midnight. However, that part is no longer happening.
"The fireworks we decided to remove because we removed any outdoor element for the event, and that was strictly from just making sure that we were prepared for everything that we were exactly going to do for New Year's Eve," said Baldes.
Peach Fest 2023 at Underground Atlanta
FOX 5 spoke with several people who were considering attending the event. They said they were disappointed to hear the fireworks were canceled.
"That's kind of sad right there because the fireworks are very traditional, it's very exciting. I don't know what they're going to do to replace the fireworks. That's a big thing in Atlanta," a passerby told FOX 5.
While the Peach Drop is normally a packed outdoor event, Peach Fest will be completely indoor.
Peach Fest 2023 at Underground Atlanta
"Part of it is it's going to be cold that night, but we also wanted to make sure that, optically, we had everything, everybody safe inside, didn't have to worry about any issues," said Baldes. "The reality of doing a large scale event outdoors with not a lot of time to plan, I think, wasn't exactly the best suit for everybody involved. We're working with our local partners, whether that's APD or different forces down here in Atlanta, to make sure that we have a safe and fun, engaging event for New Year's Eve."
Baldes says there will be 15 off-duty Atlanta police officers and more than 50 private security guards. There will also be a security checkpoint.
Peach Fest 2023 at Underground Atlanta
"There will be some food options upstairs where we have our food truck park, and there will be a heavy security presence on the property just making sure that anybody coming in, you'll have to go through a checkpoint," said Baldes.
The events will start around 8 p.m. and run until about 2:30 a.m. Tickets can be found here.