New Year's tradition....drop a sardine!

Most of the time I'd rather eat Bay of Fundy sardines than drop them but if you're looking for a very bay way to ring in the new year consider the annual sardine drop in Eastport, Maine.

An 8-foot to scale model of the Atlantic Herring will be lowered from the third story window of the Tides Institute and Museum of Art at midnight Eastern Time. Also, a 'Maple Leaf' will be lowered at midnight Atlantic Time, (or 11:00 pm eastern), as Eastport is just west of the Atlantic time zone with the Canadian islands of Deer and Campobello located just off shore in Passamaquoddy Bay. Last year a crowd of more than 300 revelers came to celebrate--twice!

Sculptor, Bill Schaefer, of East Machias, created the fish, which has a bent wood frame and is stretched with canvas. To offer a more authentic rendition, he painted the sardine in a 'contemporary realism' style to look like it was caught fresh from the Atlantic.

For more info on the Sardine and Maple Leaf Drop, visit the Tides Institute and Museum of Art web site.