confetti practice makes perfect

The confetti that fills the air in Times Square on New Year’s Eve doesn’t just happen the night of. Like anything in the theater district, a dress rehearsal is key to a successful performance. On Friday, Dec. 29, standing on the second-floor balcony of the Hard Rock Cafe NYC, a man with a microphone counted down from five over and over, throwing handfuls of confetti each time he reached the number one. This was part of the annual confetti test held by Times Square Alliance and Countdown Entertainment, co-organizers of Times Square New Year’s Eve, and presenting sponsor Planet Fitness. Police were all over Times Square, in preparation for Sunday night’s ball-drop. Children delighted in picking up confetti from the ground. Photographers gathered around a group of young women, asking them over and over to toss confetti up in the air.