This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
Giant Pepperoni Roll Drop Marks Uniquely Appalachian New Years Celebration
Mannington, W.Va. artist Ben Kolb created the 250-pound pepperoni roll that will drop during Mannington's annual celebration on New Year's Eve. Courtesy photo
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The town of Mannington, nestled slightly to the west and halfway between Bridgeport and Morgantown, will celebrate the new year by lowering a 250-pound aluminum pepperoni roll from an industrial crane 100 feet to the ground below.
This year will mark the seventh annual Great Pepperoni Roll Drop, a nod to the region’s uniquely Appalachian history and its coal-rich past.
“It mimics the whole New Year’s Eve ball drop but makes it very much West Virginia with the pepperoni roll,” said Robin Smith of Mannington Main Street, which is co-hosting the event along with Buffalo Artist Coalition.
“It’s an iconic event, and it just gets better every year,” Smith said.
The free event kicks off at 7 p.m. on Dec. 31 at Wintergarden Park in Mannington with food trucks, vendors, live music and family friendly games. The drop will take place at midnight, as spectators ring in 2026 to the strains of West Virginia’s unofficial anthem, “Country Roads.”
The base of the roll is an aluminum tube. Courtesy: Ben KolbThousands of LED lights and battery packs are added to the sculpture, which increases the weight significantly. Courtesy: Ben KolbOrganizers raised the giant pepperoni roll with its heavy LED lights into the air in preparation for the 2024 celebration.Before the heavy LED lights and battery packs are added to the final product, Ben Kolb lifted the giant pepperoni roll overhead. Courtesy: Marion County CVB
“We all rallied around making the drop a pepperoni roll because most everyone in the area grew up with their grandmothers and mothers making them,” said Ben Kolb, an event organizer and the creator of the pepperoni roll.
“It just ties us all together,” Kolb said. “You don’t get much more Marion County than a pepperoni roll.”
In a town with a population of just under 2,000 residents, organizers expect more than 800 people to show up for the event.
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This week, in author Willie Carver, Jr.’s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend. Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause. And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet.
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