Festival of Lights goes bigger, brighter
The Winter Festival of Lights turns 35 this year, but for organizers the challenge is making it feel born again every year.
So expect more new wrinkles, displays and events when the twomonth festival kicks off Nov. 18, said executive director Tina Myers.
“The ideas are flowing,” she said after a media conference Wednesday. “We have a lot of things that we want to do, but it costs money. Each year, between January and March, we go out and really hit it hard to try to get the funding to make this happen.
“We have some strong supporters, but each year that we grow, our expenses grow.”
The $ 1.5- million festival, with Ontario Power Generation as the title sponsor, begins as always with a pair of opening ceremonies at Queen Victoria Park Nov. 18 at 5: 45 p. m. and 7 p. m. The free spectacle includes pyrotechnics, laser lights and fireworks.
New illuminations along the eightkilometre route include enhanced trees at the base of Clifton Hill, and a reprogrammed light show at the Toronto Power Generating Station set to music from the Trans- Siberian Orchestra. Two new interactive displays will be offered for a limited time: Prismatica ( Nov. 18 to Dec. 16) at Scotiabank Convention Centre will feature a field of 25 prisms which can turn on their base, while The Passage ( Dec. 15 to Jan. 12) will be a 24- metre- long tunnel which changes colours as people walk through at Queen Victoria Place.
Outside the DoubleTree Fallsview on Fallsview Boulevard will be a new Canada 150 display, and new animated displays featuring the Clifton Hill Skyline will be added to street light posts on Victoria Avenue.
Near the Battlefield arch on Lundy’s Lane will be a new display simply called The Niagara. At five metres tall, it will offer a cascade of bright white lights resembling the falls.
The Deck the Falls Walking Tour ($ 40) will return on the first three Fridays and Saturdays of December, which includes food, beverages and entertainment along a 16- stop self- guided tour.
Myers is hoping the strong summer tourism season stretches into winter.
Last year’s festival attracted 1.3 million visitors, creating an economic impact of $ 48 million. More than 71,000 vehicles and 453 buses came to see the displays at Dufferin Islands — a festival record.
Niagara Parks Commission, a partner from the start, has invested another $ 300,000 into this year’s event.
Parks chairwoman Janice Thomson said the festival is a “communitywide initiative” that has grown to become a “much wider” tourism event: “Something we always envisioned and hoped it would become.”
Mayor Jim Diodati said the festival started in the early ’ 80s as “a crazy idea to not have to roll up the sidewalks after Labour Day.” It has proven crucial in Niagara Falls’ efforts to keep the tourism “buffet” going all year long.
The festival runs until Jan. 31. For a full lineup, visit www. wfol. com.