WASHINGTON — It was an early "Happy New Year" in Sherman Circle on Sunday night.
For the past ten years, Chris Rowland and Curtis Gilbert have welcomed their community into their front yard for a New Year's Eve celebration.
They moved into their Petworth home in 2013, and in 2014, they decided to create a "ball drop," using the flagpole in their front yard.
"Like Times Square, they have a ball drop, I'm like hey, I could do the same thing on this flag pole, so might as well do it," said Curtis Gilbert.
The first year the ball wasn't quite as round as it is these days.
"He had the idea to make a chicken wire ball for a drop," said Chris Rowland. Gilbert added "it was supposed to be a ball, but it was more of a blob that descended down."
The first year, there wasn't much of a crowd.
"Him and a police officer were flashing the lights and it was only two people out here but since then it's grown every year," said Rowland.
As the years passed, they got things down to a system.
"I stay in the house and clean or do the cooking while he decorates out here," said Rowland.
Now, they host two ball drops. One is at 7 p.m. for the kids, and the other is at midnight for the older crowd.
"They're like 'Oh my God thank you so much. Now we can get together with our other parents in the neighborhood start drinking at four and come down here and see the ball drop and be in bed by eight,'" said Gilbert.
One major benefit to the drop, "the bathrooms are close, unlike Time Square," said Gilbert.
As the countdown got closer, the excitement continued to build, until right at 7 p.m., the ball came down and the crowd cheered.
"Just hearing the crowd come down, that is a lot of fun and most people bring little noisemakers," said Rowland.
"Something simple as a ball drop it is simple we've been doing it for 10 years and we'll get hundreds and hundreds of people out here. Just a simple event, task can grow into something that's community worthy," said Gilbert.
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