New Jersey town lowers giant fiberglass M&M to ring in 2024
Hackettstown has been home to an M&M factory since 1958, and is starting a New Year's Eve tradition featuring the small candies.
HACKETTSTOWN, NEW JERSEY (The Retrologist) — M&Ms melt in your mouth, not in your hands, and starting this New Year’s Eve, kick off the new year in one sweet New Jersey town.
A candy factory in Hackettstown, New Jersey, has been making M&M’s since 1958, something that I did not know about until this week, and I make it my business to know this kind of arcana.
While Hackettstown is not quite at the level of Hershey, Pennsylvania, in embracing its candy-making heritage, it’s taking a big step tonight toward doing just that. That’s because a giant fiberglass M&M, studded with blingy lights, was lowered at midnight in the heart of downtown here to ring in 2024.
An estimated 10,000 people attended the event.
“The creation of the M&M was handled by Mars and donated to the town. It measures roughly 40 inches in diameter, features over 1,000 LED lights and weighs about 50 pounds,” reports NJ.com.
I was captivated the minute I heard about these plans — the idea of Hackettstown Police Lt. Darren Tynan and a collaboration among Mars, Hackettstown leaders, and the local business improvement group. So curious was I that I drove out to Hackettstown on New Year’s Eve for a quick look-see and was pleased by the sweet things I saw.
The U.S. headquarters of Mars Wrigley Confectionary, at 700 High St., is a whimsical photo op without ever having to go inside for a tour. Giant M&M characters greet you at two entrances. At one, some of them “hold up” the portico while others add to their burden by sitting atop it.
The campus, home to offices and the candy factory, is dotted with cute curiosities, including M&M crossing signs — one featuring two walking M&M characters in silhouette — as well as signage featuring M&M characters along a pleasant path next to High Street, which also goes by the far more delightful name M&M’s Chocolate Avenue.
The wooden sign that welcomes you to town features M&M characters and informs us, like a bench downtown does, too, that M&M’s have been manufactured here since 1958.
On New Year’s, the giant M&M was lowered from the top of a fire-engine ladder — a test run on Thursday gave us a preview of what it will look like, below, and you can see more photos of the actual event here.
This is a first for this candy-making town, and folks were excited on Sunday. They were ready for the big night at Tracey’s Candy Shop on Main Street, a few blocks from the intersection with Grand Avenue, where the M&M will be lowered.
The shop features a yellow M&M character outside — a second one was stolen and never returned, despite video footage of the theft being shared on social media. Inside, another M&M character holds up a tray of sweets, and the display cases feature M&M collectibles.
Tracey’s is not connected to Mars, but had its doors open New Year’s Eve evening to offer a respite from the cold — and sweet treats for sale — for revelers gathered for the inaugural M&M drop. Tracey’s makes their own chocolate and it’s delicious — I left with a gold sampler box full of them.
The New Year’s Eve festivities began officially at 9 p.m. and continued through 12:30 a.m. Believe me, I was tempted to stick around for the big show and be part of what I suspect will be an enduring celebratory tradition in the spirit of quirky roadside Americana.
The mayor was excited about the festivities, where celebrants enjoyed a visit from an M&M character, performances from local cheerleaders, and more.
"It is very exciting to be able to have our residents and visitors come together to witness the largest M&M ever falling from the sky to ring in the new year," said Mayor Jerry DiMaio, according to the New Jersey Herald.
I normally have grapes at the stroke of midnight, but this year, I added some M&Ms to the mix.