Temecula Grape Drop 2019: Time, Location For New Year's Staple

TEMECULA, CA — The city of Temecula Tuesday evening will greet 2020 with a salute to fruit, lowering a batch of grapes from the city's clock tower to mark the final moments of the current year to welcome the New Year.

The annual "grape drop" celebration will begin at 6 p.m. in Town Square Park, which has undergone a temporary conversion to a Times Square- themed venue for celebrations on the last night of 2019.

There will be two grape drops -- the first coinciding with the traditional extravaganza in New York City, and the second when the midnight hour approaches on the West Coast.

A large cluster of illuminated grapes will be gradually reeled down 65 feet from the third story of the Civic Center clock tower, marking the seconds before midnight.

The two countdown celebrations are open to the public outside Temecula City Hall and will also feature live music, food vendors and children's activities. City officials are expected to stop in, and public safety personnel will be on hand. The party will wrap up about 1 a.m.

The Temecula Valley is home to several dozen vintners, and grapes are the staple product.

— By City News Service