Thousands of people are expected to ring in the New Year in Pharr as the city hosts its fourth ball drop on Wednesday.

Maria Garza, owner of the bakery Chepe’s Cakery, will be one of many vendors at the event.

Garza said this will be her first year as a vendor after applying to be one for the previous ball drops. 

According to C.J. Sanchez, the president and CEO of the Greater Pharr Chamber of Commerce, 42 vendors applied but only 20 were selected.

“Depending on the type of event, the theme of the event, we want to make sure that we offer the quality of vendors that are going to be in theme for that event,” Sanchez said.

Vendors pay a fee for working the event, a cost that Sanchez said is small compared to what vendors will earn during the event.

“We want to make sure that we're doing our process productively for them to be able to make sure that they're making it worth it for them to participate," Sanchez said. “So that fee is very minimal to what they make at one of our events."

Garza said she invested in one of those bigger lots to get her business seen and make money.

“Go big or go home,” Garza said.

The countdown to midnight nears as Garza and the rest of the vendors finalize their setup, reminding us that the new year starts not at midnight, but at the moment you bet on yourself.

Watch the video above for the full story.