Niagara-on-the-Lake welcomes 2018 with levee
Niagara-on-the-Lake Lord Mayor Pat Darte says 2017 was a year his community should easily be proud of.
This was a message he delivered at the 28th annual New Year’s Day Levee inside Navy Hall at Fort George on Monday.
The municipality enjoyed its sesquicentennial anniversary with several events – a confederation celebration, a visit from the Snowbirds, a tall ships regatta, and much more.
In an interview at the event attended by close to 200 people, Darte said the levee is a perfect way to look back at the previous year’s accomplishments, but also ahead to what the next 12 months have in store.
“Everything is all about all the good things that can happen in the new year,” said Darte.
“We have a lot of great things coming up, moving forward,” he added.
The traditional levee is held in partnership with Parks Canada, an agency coming off the best 365 day span in its history, according to Louis Lavoie, field unit superintendent for southwestern Ontario.
At Fort George, there was a 115 per cent increase in visitors, he said.
Lavoie attributes this to the distribution of the Discovery Pass, something used by one in five households at all Parks Canada sites across the country.
In 2018, youth 17 and under will be admitted for free.
“Right now, we’re really focusing on making it affordable for families to visit our places,” he said in an interview at the levee.
He also said winter offerings, such as the popular skating rink at Fort George, have helped draw people to the site.
“We certainly want to keep that momentum and carry it on for the next few years,” he said.
Lavoie said he was delighted to participate in Monday’s festivities and share the successes of Parks Canada and Fort George last year.
“Everyone is in a mood to celebrate,” he said.