BUFFALO, NY ( WKBW ) Tens of thousands of people flocked to Roosevelt Plaza in downtown Buffalo Saturday night to ring in the New Year at the Buffalo Ball Drop and Fireworks.
Eyewitness News anchors Keith Radford and Joanna Pasceri hosted a special broadcast of the event, which included highlights from "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve" 40th anniversary telecast. Channel 7's Kendra Eaglin and Jason Gruenauer were on the Ball Drop stage entertaining the crowd as well.
In Buffalo, singer Caitlin Koch and the Jamie Moses Band entertained the crowd before the big countdown to 2012. Caitlin recently performed on a reality entertainment television show and wowed the judges. Caitlin is from Orchard Park, and sings with the Jamie Moses Band all over Western New York. Jamie is the owner and publisher of ARTVOICE, the alternative news weekly.
Fireworks lit up the skies over downtown Buffalo at midnight, set to music by the Skylighters of Western New York. The spectacular show and colorful ball were all set against the backdrop of the Electric Tower, one of Buffalo's premiere buildings.
The Electric Tower has been the site of the Ball Drop and Fireworks for 24 years. In 2012, the building that helped "electrify" Western New York turns 100 years old. Iskalo Development owns the tower, in addition to other buildings of distinction in WNY.
Children and adults from all over Western New York packed the Plaza for the New Year's Eve event. Revelers Amanda and Melissa Lepkowski of Orchard Park called the event "awesome!"
The Buffalo Ball Drop and Fireworks is organized by the Police Athletic League. PAL directly benefits from sponsorship of the event.
This year, Independent Health returned as the headline sponsor, with the WNY Chevy Dealers presenting the fireworks, and FWS Home Furnishings sponsoring the entertainment stage.
The Ball Drop and Fireworks started in 1988 as a gift to the city from radio station 97 Rock, that remains as a co-sponsor of the show.
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