New Year's Eve in Cincinnati

Cincinnati's main downtown NYE celebration -- a DJ and live host, a 7:10 PM kids' countdown for families heading home before midnight, a midnight countdown and toast, and the UC Health Ice Rink open nearby at Elm Street Plaza. NOTE: Cincinnati is historically associated with "flying" (not dropping) a pig at midnight as a nod to "when pigs fly," but the 2026 Fountain Square event centers on a standard ball drop rather than a pig -- worth a fact-check on whether a pig element appears anywhere in the current program before describing it as a defining feature.