BATON ROUGE — City leaders have begun preparing for New Year's Eve as crews installed the "Red Stick" in downtown Baton Rouge.

The local version of the famous New Year's Eve Ball in New York was erected at the North Boulevard Town Square near City Hall. 

The "Red Stick" will be dropped at midnight on New Year's Eve to conclude the city's Red Stick Revelry Celebration, which will begin at 8 p.m.