La Grande Main Street Downtown wins WOW Factor award from Oregon Festivals and Events Association for New Year's Eve Ball Drop

Mar. 17—LA GRANDE — For the last nine years, the community has gathered to ring in the New Year with a block party and ball drop hosted by La Grande Main Street Downtown.

This year, the Oregon Festivals and Events Association recognized La Grande's New Year's Eve celebration by presenting LGMSD with the WOW Factor award for the event during an awards dinner earlier this month.

"I'm just excited to get La Grande more on the map," Executive Director of LGMSD Monica McLaughlin said.

The WOW Factor award is given to an event that stands out from the moment guests arrive and continues to wow them throughout the venue, according to the Oregon Festivals and Events Association.

The burn barrels are very popular, McLaughlin said. John Howard, owner of John J. Howard Real Estate, also puts up a warming tent and hands out hot chocolate to help keep revelers warm.

Local businesses also contribute to the success of the event. This year, Blue Mountain Outfitters provided games like ladder ball, cornhole and giant jenga. There were food vendors and HQ set up an outdoor beer garden. McLaughlin noted that HQ also had live music inside with the Nogero's Metal at Midnight concert.

Other surrounding businesses, like Tap That Growlers and Brickyard Lanes, that hosted their own New Year's Eve events to welcome 2023 also helped, McLaughlin said. When it was getting close to midnight they rallied everyone outside to Depot Street and Adams Avenue for the countdown and ball drop.

"We promoted it well," McLaughlin said.

Mary Ann Miesner, president of LGMSD and a La Grande city councilor, accepted the award on behalf of the organization.

The ball drop was up against events with much more substantial budgets and large attendance numbers for the WOW Factor award, according to Miesner.

"It was very humbling, I'm so glad we won it," she said.

Everyone Miesner spoke with at the awards dinner thought it was amazing that the New Year's celebration actually includes a ball drop. When Ashley O'Toole first conceptualized the block party, he said there was no ball drop anywhere in Oregon.

"Even 10 years later it's still the only one," O'Toole said.

O'Toole, who works as a real estate agent for Howard, said he was struck with inspiration for the ball drop while looking at the renderings of the new clock and flagpole at the Phoenix Building, 1205 Adams Ave., in 2014.

The New Year's Eve ball is made out of electrical conduit and was built by local contractor Bryan Grimshaw, O'Toole said. The organization relies on the La Grande Fire Department to help put up and take down the ball. He added that they treat it like a training exercise.

O'Toole said he has a lot of respect for the Oregon Festivals and Events Association.

"To even be considered was an honor, and it's great that we won it. We'll carry that with pride into our 10th anniversary," he said.

McLaughlin said she would really like to lean into the winter weather with something like a winter wonderland theme. Blue Mountain Outfitters would like to set up curling if the weather permits.

"I'd like to actually take advantage of the cold weather, rather than being scared of it," she said.

O'Toole promised that the 10th anniversary New Year's Eve event will be the "biggest and best one yet."

Isabella Crowley is a reporter for The Observer. Contact her at 541-624-6014 or icrowley@lagrandeobserver.com.