RALEIGH, N.C. — From the pickle drop in Mount Olive to the crown in Charlotte, there are unique New Year’s Eve celebrations all over the Tar Heel State. In the City of Oaks, the acorn drop has become a beloved tradition.
What You Need To Know
The acorn drop has been part of a New Year’s Eve celebration in Raleigh since 1992
David Benson was hired to create the acorn and is in charge of polishing it every year
Benson also owns a coffee shop in Raleigh and doesn’t want to be defined by his ties to the acorn
Every year David Benson, the artist who created the acorn, is in charge of polishing it ahead of New Year’s Eve.
“I don’t know if you can see it, but there are black spots there, but I’ll get those all off,” Benson said. “It’s like 1,200 pounds, like 1,250 pounds. It’s pretty heavy.”
“I think the bottom is the most important part, because it’s usually up on the crane so that’s what you see the most of,” Benson said.
There’s no shortage of comments from onlookers as Benson polishes it outside his home in Raleigh. Benson said the things he usually hears include, “It’s big. It’s huge. That’s a big acorn. Is there a squirrel?”
Back in the 1990s, the Bicentennial Committee for the 200th anniversary of Raleigh hired Benson to make the acorn. He’s an expert now, but at the time he’d never created anything like it. However, that didn’t scare him. He also wasn’t scared of opening a coffee shop in 2004.
“They built the Empire State building in 18 months,” Benson said. “What can humans not do? We send a thing to Mars that drives around the surface and takes pictures and sends it back and digs holes and shoots lasers. An acorn? It's pretty easy. How hard could it be?”
The acorn is likely Benson’s claim to fame, but he probably won’t tell you that.
“I don't know. I don't know. I don't think I'm shy. I think maybe it's just more fun when they are surprised by it,” Benson said.
He doesn’t want the acorn to completely define him. After all, most of his days are spent at the coffee shop.
“I do this for my kid and my future. As an artist, I didn't make a lot of money, so this pays the bills, and now I have a little bit more free time, so I can do more with my art,” Benson said.
At his core he’s still an artist but instead of painting and sculpting, he’s mixing and chopping.
“If I had worked this hard at making art, I could have made a lot more pieces of art,” Benson said.
He says most of the pieces he makes now are for himself, but perhaps it was the coffee shop that made him reflect on what kind of artist he wanted to be in the first place.
“This has helped my art career in a sense that I don't do really frivolous things anymore. I just do things that I want to do instead of doing them for money,” Benson said.
As he has always has been, Benson will be there in downtown Raleigh when his acorn is dropped on New Year’s Eve.
The acorn drop at midnight is part of First Night Raleigh on December 31. The celebration features music and vendors across 20 blocks in downtown.
For the first time, First Night Raleigh will be a completely outdoor event, and masks will be required. Additionally, attendees who are at least 6 years old will need to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test from official Wake County testing site within 48 hours.