Maid of the Mist future in jeopardy

From the Buffalo News: Though Maid of the Mist boats have been shuffling tourists to the base of Niagara Falls for 126 consecutive years, their future on the American and Canadian sides of the cataracts remains uncertain. In six weeks, the tourism company will find out if it can continue those tours, or whether the…

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Parks Commission needs more time for boat tour lease decision

From the Niagara Falls Review: It has had more than 11 months to pick a winner, but the Niagara Parks Commission says its evaluation team needs more time. More than a year and a half after a long-term operator for boat tours at the base of the Horseshoe Falls was originally supposed to be found,…

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Ontario, sanitized for your protection

The Toronto Sun newspapers had an opinion piece recently about Ontario, and how the government is trying to “protect us” (they called it a Nanny State). At one point, it uses Niagara Falls as an example: These days, the architects of our bubble-wrapped, peanut-free society have their sights set on the daredevil community. The nattering…

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Cullen miniatures sale approved

From the Niagara Falls Review: The Cullen Miniature Village, which has delighted hundreds of thousands of visitors at its former location in the Durham Region, has found a new home in The Niagara Parks Commission’s (NPC) Botanical Gardens. Oshawa City Council approved the sale after endorsing a decision made that city’s corporate services committee last…

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NPC buys Cullen miniatures

From Niagara This Week: The Niagara Parks Commission hopes some little buildings will become a big attraction in Niagara Falls. Oshawa City Council gave its nod to an offer by the NPC to purchase a collection of miniature buildings and assorted pieces that were once found at Cullen Gardens in Whitby. The NPC offered $113,000…

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Canada nixes Wallenda’s Niagara rope walk

From UPI: Canadian officials in Niagara Falls have denied daredevil Nik Wallenda’s application to walk across the Niagara Gorge on a tightrope next summer. Wednesday night, the Niagara Parks Commission voted to deny a permit for the stunt, planned for June, the Toronto Star reported. The plan was for Wallenda to cross from Goat Island,…

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Pressure mounts to OK walk across Niagara Falls

From the Toronto Star: As an aerialist’s bid to tightrope walk across Niagara Falls next summer hangs in the balance, the commission ruling on his proposal is facing pressure to let the event proceed. Nik Wallenda, a seventh-generation member of the famed tightrope-walking Wallenda family, hopes to fulfill his lifelong dream of walking across the falls…

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NPC appoints new chair

From Niagara This Week: After almost five months in the interim position, Janice Thomson has been appointed the chair of the Niagara Parks Commission’s Board of Directors. While the announcement was made by Tourism and Culture Minister Michael Chan on Wednesday, the appointment was actually effective Nov. 16. Thomson, executive director of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber…

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NPC says it followed the rules for carousel deal

From the Niagara Falls Review: They won’t say how much it cost for the six-week rental of a carousel ride, but the Niagara Parks Commission says the proper bidding process was followed. The Victorian Candy Lane carousel opened Saturday at Queen Victoria Place and the NPC says more than 700 rides were taken on the…

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Wallenda won’t give up on falls tightrope dream

From the Niagara Falls Review: Both Nik Wallenda and the Niagara Parks Commission are digging in their heels. Wallenda wants to be the first person in more than a century to walk across the Niagara gorge on a tightrope. The Commission seems determined not to let it happen. The performer was in Niagara Falls Wednesday…

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