Ring in The New Year – Water Valley Style
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The Steampunk Crappie float earned a first place finish in the non-profit category of the Water Valley Christmas parade.
WATER VALLEY — Preparations are complete and anticipation is building on Main Street as Water Valley gears up for the 2025/2026 Crappie Drop that will be held at the Pocket Park, a New Year’s Eve tradition in Water Valley.
The celebration will begin around 11 p.m. and continue until approximately 12:30 a.m., with the countdown to midnight centered on the return of the Steampunk Crappie, a six-foot crappie contraption with fire bell eyes, an ooga horn, confetti breath that has become the signature symbol of Water Valley’s New Year’s Eve celebration. This year marks several milestones for the event, including the first year the Steampunk Crappie rolled in the annual Christmas parade and the first year the event has been officially adopted as one of the signature celebrations of the Water Valley Main Street Association.
“This thing has definitely developed a fan base,” Lawton Gafford said after the Christmas parade. “There were a lot of fans out there.”
The float featuring the crappie earned a first place finish in the non-profit category of the Christmas parade.
“We were happy to win, happy to be recognized,” reported James McCormick.
First held in 2017, the Crappie Drop pays homage to the world-record five-pound, three-ounce white crappie caught at Enid Lake in 1957. And what began as a homegrown idea has evolved into a downtown tradition with a loyal following for the event and the crappie.
The Steampunk Crappie returns this year with a series of mechanical and visual upgrades, overseen by Izzy Thornton, who manages the crappie’s electronics. The fish received “new guts,” including a new motherboard and battery, along with updated wiring designed to improve reliability. New features include enhanced lighting, a bubble blower, eyeball bells and the return of the signature ooga horn housed inside the fish.
Organizers are also placing greater emphasis on the visual impact of the drop itself.
“This year, we’re trying to make the landing zone more dramatic,” McCormick said. “We’re adding a canvas backdrop, decorative elements and a cordon around the landing zone.”
The decorative elements for cordon, paper mache fish, were created by Katherine Montague’s art students, who crafted paper maché fish for the float décor and for the cordon surrounding the crappie’s landing area.
The Krewe Of Crappie for the 2025/2026 celebration are McCormick, Thornton, Gafford, Joseph Gurner, Elizabeth Wright and Rod Mazzone. Lucia Holloway will serve as Honorary Torchbearer, accompanied by her entourage member Clay Ashford.
The event will be emceed by Cliff Johnson, with additional support from Main Street Association representative Chris Goodwin. Organizers credited local donors and vendors for helping make the event possible. Donors include Jack Williams, Lee McMinn and April Hammons.
Vendors on hand for the evening will include Crazy Rob’s Fireworks, Gray’s Power Supply LLC and Hummingbird Bakery.
As midnight approaches and the Steampunk Crappie makes its descent for another year, organizers say the goal remains simple.
“The idea is to party with your friends and then come down around 11 to ring in the new year,” said James McCormick.
The Pocket Park is located at the intersection of North Main and Wagner streets.
