News-Argus/Bobby Williams

Two-year-old Ashley Harvell tooted her party horn last night during the 9th Annual Mount Olive Pickle Drop. The New Year's Eve event underway around 6 p.m., when the public starting lining up at the front gate. People were encouraged to bring canned food donations for the food bank. At 6:45 p.m., plant President Bill Bryant welcomed the crowd and soon after the countdown began. With twenty seconds left on the clock, the crowd started to count down in unison, and ended with a loud "Happy New Year!" Nearly 2,000 people attended the event, which was timed to coincide with midnight Greenwich time.