Local developers,officials take measured steps to lure Wallenda back to Falls

From the Niagara Gazette: Nik Wallenda might not be the only daredevil around here, although he takes the risks and walks those crazy high wires while crowds watch in awe. As he returns to the region this summer for a 10-week stint at Darien Lake, local developers and officials are doing their own type of…

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Daredevil Nik Wallenda Looking to Build Entertainment Complex in Niagara Falls

From WKBW Channel 7 in Buffalo: With his walk over the Grand Canyon now over, Nik Wallenda has returned his focus to Western New York. On Wednesday, the daredevil announced that he is planning on walking a 200-foot high-wire at next year’s Erie County Fair. Wallenda is also moving ahead with plans to build an entertainment…

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Jumpers, climbers, fliers and more: Great daredevils of the last 100 years

From NBCNews.com: This Sunday, daredevil Nik Wallenda — who famously traversed Niagara Falls on a tightrope last year — will attempt another extreme balancing act: walking a tightrope over the Grand Canyon. Wallenda carries on a family tradition with his tricks — he is the seventh generation of the “Great Wallendas,” a stunt-performing family. And he calls to…

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Wallenda returns: Daredevil talks of new book and Falls site update

From the Niagara Gazette: Aerialist Nik Wallenda returned to Niagara Falls on Friday, and gave his word, once again, that plans for a Falls performance area were still in the works. The daredevil, who left the city so triumphantly last June after crossing the Niagara Gorge on a two-inch wire, held a press conference on…

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Climbing into the wheelbarrow

The Citizen in Fayetteville, GA has an article about Felix Baumgartner (the guy who jumped from almost outer space). The beginning of the article is about Blondin (a daredevil tie-in). In the 1800s, an acrobat named Blondin became famous for walking across Niagara Falls on a tightrope numerous times. One day, a crowd gathered to…

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This week in Michigan history: Bay City teacher first person to survive Niagara barrel drop

From the Detroit Free Press: Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to survive a barrel ride over Niagara Falls on Oct. 24, 1901. The 63-year-old Bay City teacher used a self-designed barrel that was 4 1/2 feet high and approximately 3 feet in diameter, with a leather harness and cushions for protection, according to…

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Wallenda back in town Wednesday – Grand Canyon possibly next summer

From the Niagara Falls Review: Two months after making history, wirewalker Nik Wallenda will be back in Niagara Falls Wednesday. For an invite-only event at Bravo Pizzeria (7:30 p.m.), Wallenda will have a concrete impression made of his feet, to be placed in the daredevil exhibit at the newly-renovated Niagara Falls Museum. Wallenda’s walk across…

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Daredevil Walks From Skylon Tower to Hilton Hotel

From WGRZ Channel 2 in Buffalo (includes video): Nik Wallenda isn’t the only daredevil wowing crowds with a combination of balance and nerves of steel. Jay Cochrane, 68, held the first of a series of tightrope walks from the Skylon Tower to the Hilton in downtown Niagara Falls, Ontario. Cochrane’s walk started at a height…

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Niagara tightrope walker promoted Slocan mines

This isn’t directly Niagara Falls related, but it is still interesting… From the Nelson Star: This month, stuntman Nik Wallenda became the first person in over 110 years to cross Niagara Falls on a tightrope. One person who would have known the feeling was William Leonard Hunt, aka the Great Farini, an American-born, Canadian-raised daredevil…

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