Schuylkill County’s largest New Year’s Eve celebration will continue in Tamaqua this year.

Celebrating 19 years of festivities, the Tamaqua Chamber of Commerce and the ABC Tamaqua Hi Rise will mark the start of 2017 with a live feed from New York’s Time Square along with the traditional rise of brightly lit eagles making their way to the top of the high-rise, Schuylkill County’s tallest building.The light and sound spectacle is the handiwork of Frank Fabrizio of Brockton, as it has been since the celebration started in 1998. Initially designed to celebrate Tamaqua’s 200th anniversary, the event proved to be extremely popular and organizers agreed to continue their efforts. At that time, Fabrizio modeled his work after the ball drop in Times Square. He changed the ball to an eagle several years later, in acknowledgment of the Tamaqua Area School District’s mascot, creating a unique, fitting tribute. And, as eagles do, he changed the trajectory of the lights from going down to flying up. When the eagles rise to the top of the hi-rise, a 2017 sign will light up.This year’s event will be held from 11 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Dec. 31. The 200 block of East Broad Street will be blocked to traffic during those hours as a safety measure.