Cascades of Fire ready to light up Falls
Pyrotechnics will fill the night sky over Niagara Falls for the next two weekends.
The Cascades of Fire International Fireworks Competition will pit teams from China, Finland, Brazil, Vietnam and Italy against each other starting Friday. Teams will present an 18-minute show synchronized to music, to be judged in five areas such as creativity and crowd reaction.
Tina Myers, executive director with the Winter Festival of Lights, expects about 50,000 people to attend all six nights of the competition. The four main viewing areas will be near Table Rock, the Toronto Power Park, Kingsbridge Park and by the Marriott Hotel on Fallsview Boulevard.
“Those places have really amazing vantage points,” says Myers.
Shows are scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday the next two weekends, all starting at 9 p.m. As host country, Canada will put on a special fireworks finale Nov. 18.
Expect the shows to be bigger and brighter than the usual Niagara Parks fireworks shows over the gorge, says Myers. Those shows use six-inch shells which go as high as 600 feet — the competition will use 10 and 12-inch shells that can go as high as 1,200
to 1,500 feet.
That will make the fireworks visible throughout much of the city, but Myers suggests one of the designated viewing areas to get the full effect.
“You’re going to be able to see fireworks from quite a distance, however, the show itself, you want to see the low-level, mid-level and high-level that’s all synchronized to music.”
As for the environmental impact, Myers says everything used in the show will be biodegradable and should leave no trace within 24 hours.
“The flares that police use have more chemicals in them than actual fireworks.”
All shows are weather permitting, she adds. Should any display be postponed it will be held the following weekend.
To accommodate crowds along Niagara Parkway, there will be a progressive road closure on show nights starting at 7 between Upper Rapidsview Boulevard and Kingsbridge Park, then extending to Macklem Road by 8:30. Roads will re-open immediately after the fireworks.