The story behind the Idaho Potato Drop
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Happy NYE! Tonight when the clock strikes midnight, a gigantic glowing potato will drop in downtown Boise. The Idaho Potato Drop started as a quirky idea and has grown into an iconic celebration, now entering its 12th year. Today's story was written by Sonya Feibert-Kuhn and takes us through the story behind Idaho's iconic NYE celebration. Enjoy! The story behind the Idaho Potato DropBy Sonya Feibert-Kuhn When Dylan Cline first told friends, and then the City of Boise, about his idea to drop a giant potato in downtown Boise to ring in the new year, they thought it was a joke. People laughed, and laughed—and then an estimated 40,000 people showed up to the very first Idaho Potato Drop. Dylan’s idea had taken root. Now ringing in its 12th year this New Year’s Eve, the Idaho Potato Drop has become an iconic part of Boise’s New Year’s celebration. People come from all over the state, the country, and the world to be here for the entertainment leading up to midnight and the moment when the giant, glowing potato descends in downtown Boise. To learn more about the story behind this giant potato tradition, I talked to Dylan, the CEO and Founder of the Idaho Potato Drop. Dylan is a lifelong musician and has been part of the Boise music scene for years. Early in the ideation phase when he told a friend about his potato drop dream, that friend told him about his own idea for a festival celebrating local music. That friend was Eric Gilbert, and his dream blossomed into Treefort Music Fest. Two epic ideas taking seed around the same time. As Dylan said, “Boise’s wild like that. I’m seeing friends of mine doing so well. There are a lot of success stories coming out of here.” Here’s what Dylan shared about the inspiration behind the giant potato, highlights from the last 11 years, and what he’s excited about this year: What inspired you to start the Idaho Potato Drop?Dylan: It was 2012, I was sitting on the same couch I’m sitting on now, with friends. It was October, the news was on, and a story came on about the Times Square ball drop. At the time, we were wondering what to do for New Year’s. I’d never been to a New Year’s Eve party outside of my parents'. They always threw a good one. But in 2012 my mom was sick and dying. I wanted to do something for the new year, both as a tribute to her and a way to take my mind off of everything, and I thought of the crane and big hole at 8th and Main. I thought, you know what I can do, I’ll build a huge potato, host a party, and drop the potato. My friends laughed, but they could tell I was serious. Anytime I floated the idea, it was met with the same response: laughter. Later that month, I was talking to my mom, and her health had turned for the worse. I thought, ‘I’m going to make this event happen.’ Two weeks later, I’d put together a sponsorship kit and pitched my idea to the City of Boise. Once again, I was met with laughter. So I pitched it to KTVB, and the president loved it, but said ‘We have one month until New Year’s. Give it a year.’ I took it to the Idaho Potato Commission, and they said the same thing: they’d get behind it, but give it a year. So I did. I planned it for the entire next year. To fund the event, I approached a gentleman who helped me take our Shopify online store and turn it into a customized crowdfunding platform. Folks donated different things for it, including hotel stays and a BSU football made from reclaimed wood. Within 6 months, we raised several thousand dollars. Sponsors have helped us out a lot, including the Idaho Potato Commission, Visit Boise, and Stor-It. They’ve been just incredible, absolutely key. They give us a huge warehouse to store the potato. Equipment Share brings all the heat. Idaho Storage Connection also helps us with storage. What did the first drop look like?Dylan: We did the inaugural event in 2013/2014 in the Grove, where Clearwater is now. KTVB estimated that 40,000 showed up. It was wild. The streets were overrun. The feedback since has been positive and overwhelming. Every week we get 20-30 requests, people saying ‘We bought VIP tickets, we’re coming in from Great Britain, Asia, South America.' We get a lot of families who come, and seeing the kids’ reactions warms my heart. It’s a free and charitable event. All expenses are covered by sponsorship and VIP sales. How did you build the giant potato? I understand there’s a 2.0 version.Dylan: I got a team together. I worked with industrial artists, Sharolyn and Chris Schofield, who do big installations. Chris and Sharolyn helped me draw it up and sculpt the potato. They took my design, and after a lot of back and forth, we figured out how to create it. We put four big foam blocks together, glued them, put an h-frame ladder for structural integrity, and took a heat razor wire to shape the potato. We painted it and used putty. Sharolyn and Chris did the mold and handiwork, trowline — everything a sculptor would do. They’ve built both potatoes for us. I got connected with them through Frank Muir of the Idaho Potato Commission (IPC), as they’d done the original IPC potato. It was my first foray into commissioning a piece of art like that, designing it, and figuring out how are we going to light this thing from the inside? We had to make sure it was light enough, yet strong enough to support lights, a wireless relay system, lasers, a fog machine. A couple of my engineer friends worked on it in addition to the Schofields. There were a lot of hands helping out. It took a village. In year four, we moved to the Capitol and built our current high-tech, ‘glow-tato.’ I learned how to throw fiberglass and steel, and install a wireless relay system. The original design was used on a new Idaho Potato Commission tour truck, and their old one was turned into a hotel. What are some highlights from the last 11 years?Dylan: The first year is still such a highlight. That first drop, I was in my hotel room at the Grove. There was a lull in between bands, and I was taking my wet shoes off, trying to get some rest. I got a buzz on my phone: ‘Hey Dylan they need you down here, we have some quiet air before the next talent comes on stage.’ I opened the curtains to look out at the crowd, and I almost fell over. It was just a sea of people. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I stood on stage where the Clearwater building stands now, and looking out at the Grove, said ‘I want to thank everyone for being here and braving the cold to celebrate the New Year with our fellow Idahoans. I want to dedicate this event to my mother, Kenya Cline, who passed away just before this.’ I looked up at the sky and blew a kiss. I looked out at the crowd, and everyone was doing the same thing. I welled up. It was one of the most profound moments of my life. I felt the energy of everyone there and my mom. As I looked up at the sky that night, I saw an orb. I found out a week later that night there were more UFO sightings in Idaho than at any other time. That first year, I got a call from Ariana Huffington at Huffington Post. I thought, this is wild. She wanted to help us get the word out. Shopify got a hold of us, too. With Mark Cuban involved, they put together a build-a-biz contest with us featured on the cover. In 2022, I got a call from Anderson Cooper inviting us to be on the Times Square live broadcast with him and Andy Cohen. It was the first time in history that Mountain Standard Time was included in their broadcast. We air live on NBC every year, which broadcasts to over 200 countries. We’ve been a question on “Jeopardy,” in Reader’s Digest, on the “Today Show,” in British Airways in-flight magazine, Dubai Weekly, and Smithsonian Magazine. It’s been a long road, but it’s worth it when you look at the impact the event has on people. Thanks to Nielsen TV ratings, we can track our mentions around the globe, and at one point we reached over 3.5 billion people—half of the world’s population. Already this year, we’re up over 450 million views all over the globe. One of the coolest things ever to me is that the Idaho Potato Drop is emblazoned in the U.S. curriculum for k-12. What are you excited about this year?Dylan: I’m excited to host some new talent this year, Rhode’s Hulls Magic Band. They have a lot of history here in Boise. Boise Rock School will be performing as usual. They were the first performers at the first potato drop and have played every year. Tamarack will be hosting an all-new rail jam. It’ll include a ski and snowboard course that a wider range of people can join. Every year we support nonprofits. Our main one this year is So Good. They’re out in the community doing so many good things. They showed up last year to support us, so we said this year we’re supporting you. What to Know for the Idaho Potato Drop 2024/25:
Thanks for reading & have a happy new year's eve! With love from Boise, Marissa This story was written by Sonya Feibert Kuhn, a writer, improviser, and performer in Boise. She's an avid Treeforter and an enthusiastic patron of and participant in the storytelling and comedy scenes. On sunny days, find her in the foothills hiking with her pup, Chloe, and partner, Mitch.
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