Monthly Archive for June, 2007

Clifton Hill Resorts Update - Mid June 2007

Published
by
Graham
on June 25, 2007
in Niagara Falls Hotels
. 4 Comments

On Friday I received the latest issue of the Clifton Hill Resorts Update newsletter. They are promoting several packages. I have to give HOCO credit for being faithful in sending out their newsletter. It is by far the most regular Niagara Falls newsletter that I get. However, it would be nice if the newsletter was different than it was the last time. It always seems to promote the same sorts of package and has the same information.

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You can subscribe to the Clifton Hill Resorts Update newsletter by visiting the Clifton Hill Newsletter page.

Niagara Falls combines sublime with the surreal

Published
by
Graham
on June 25, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From Everything Michigan:

There may be nowhere on earth with as many forms of highbrow and lowbrow entertainment as the Canadian shore of the Niagara River. This is a place that’s not content to have only one casino, two indoor water parks or three haunted house attractions. Instead Niagara has multiples of everything, especially on Clifton Hill, the fun-house entertainment district that has become the Canadian Capital of Kitsch.

But this place is more than just neon, laughter and screams. There’s also the world-renowned Shaw Theater Festival in Niagara on the Lake, the 100-acre Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens at Niagara Falls, the “Niagara Heritage Trail” with military forts and battlefields that figured prominently in the War of 1812, and a wine-making district that grows in prestige with each passing year.

And yet, with all that activity to choose from, the place to be on a sunny June afternoon is at Table Rock, where hundreds of visitors stand along a stone and metal fence, watching a wall of water cascade over the Niagara escarpment.

Couple takes the wedding plunge at foot of Niagara Falls

Published
by
Graham
on June 25, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Buffalo News:

The bride wore white in a sea of blue ponchos. What else do you do when the sun is sparkling on the water, and you’re about to take your wedding vows before hundreds of strangers on the Maid of the Mist?

Kimberly Rust and Dave Gilkey left their home in Grand Blanc, Mich., at 4 a.m. Friday by car, and were ready for their wedding on the top deck of the iconic Falls attraction 12 hours later.

The Rev. Malcolm MacQuarrie Sr., of Fort Erie, Ont., officiated as the bride and groom, both in their early 20s, pledged to love one another forever, before a crowd of curious tourists, many snapping away with their cameras.

“We’re spontaneous,” said Rust, who found her dress, a minister and a location for their wedding in three days. “No one else really does this, and I thought a lot of other people could get the excitement out of it.”

The couple vacationed in Niagara Falls in October and were disappointed that the Maid of the Mist was closed for the season.

When they became engaged in December, they mulled over potential wedding spots, settling on the Falls a few days ago. “They were talking about an outdoor wedding in Michigan,” said Richard Gilkey, father of the groom, who was told about the Maid of the Mist plans on Wednesday. “It was a little surprising, a bit of a shock.”

Controversial tower design downsized

Published
by
Graham
on June 25, 2007
in Niagara Falls Developments and Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

A controversial plan to build a high-rise condominium tower on River Road appears to be off the table, replaced by a proposal to build a shorter building with fewer units.

Still, residents are worried the scaled-down design will change the character of the older residential neighbourhood.

“The original proposal, which was really extreme and intrusive for this area, is gone. The whole thing has to start all over again,” said Ken Murphy, a River Road resident who opposed the project first pitched by ORE Real Estate, a Mississauga company.

That company wanted to build a 29-storey tower with 250 units.

I reported on this last year.

Building on Victoria Avenue torn down

Published
by
Graham
on June 22, 2007
in Niagara Falls Developments
. 6 Comments

As was mentioned in a previous comment, the building between Mama Mia’s and Tussaud’s was torn down recently. I don’t know anything about it as to who owns it or what is going to happen to the space.

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New Niagara Falls Tourism web site

Published
by
Graham
on June 22, 2007
in Niagara Falls Web Sites
. 2 Comments

Niagara Falls Tourism has a redesigned web site. It’s very bright and colourful and has some nice features. They have started a blog (called the Niagara Falls Blog after I called mine that years ago, and after Clifton Hill copied with their Niagara Falls Blog - Travel and Tourism News), but it doesn’t look like it will be much competition.

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You can visit the site or read more about it on the Clifton Hill blog (that’s where I first read about it).

Preparing for Jay Cochrane

Published
by
Graham
on June 22, 2007
in Niagara Falls Events
. 0 Comments

The towers and wires are being put up around the Skylon Tower in preparation for Jay Cochrane.

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WILLWONDERS NEVER CEASE?

Published
by
Graham
on June 22, 2007
in Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

On your marks, get ready - and vote for your favourite places in Niagara Falls and Fort Erie. In Saturday’s Review, forms will be included for readers to nominate the Seven Wonders of Niagara Falls and the Seven Wonders of Fort Erie.

“We really want people to have some fun with it,” said Peter Conradi, managing editor of The Review.

“We hope people will take an interest in it and maybe we will educate some people who don’t know a lot about the region.”

Readers will have about four weeks to send in nominations by fax, mail or e-mail. For Niagara Falls nominations, send e-mails to: falls7wonders@nfreview.com, and for Fort Erie nominations send e-mails to: fe7wonders@nfreview.com.

A panel of judges picked from each community will assist in narrowing down the nominations. Unlike the recent CBC Seven Wonders of Canada contest, the ultimate decision will be up to the people.

Antica Pizza expanding

Published
by
Graham
on June 21, 2007
in Niagara Falls Developments and Niagara Falls Dining
. 1 Comment

As was mentioned in a previous comment, it looks like Antica Pizza will be expanding into the space that used to be Circus World. There is a liquor license sign up on the vacant part of the building.

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Fate of Parks Commission concert series unknown

Published
by
Graham
on June 21, 2007
in Niagara Falls Events and Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From the Niagara Falls Review:

Two weeks before it was set to start, the Niagara Parks Commission has apparently called off its latest attempt at a concert series.

The Hot Summer Nights at the Falls lineup included The Commodores, Neil Sedaka and former Styx lead singer Dennis DeYoung performing at Queen Victoria Park throughout July. Tickets for each show were $25 and went on sale June 1 on the commission’s website.

But rumours of cancellations surfaced, while The Commodores, Sedaka and DeYoung all removed the Niagara Falls shows from their websites. As of Wednesday, the series was no longer listed on www.niagara parks.com.

Contacted at home Wednesday evening, Niagara Parks Commission general manager John Kernahan said a decision on the fate of the series is expected Friday.