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The Friendship Festival was an annual celebration of the bond between Canada and the United States. This event was held in Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York, which are connected by the Peace Bridge. The festival ran from 1987 to 2019 and was held from 29 June to 4 July. These dates encompassed Canada Day (July 1) and Independence Day (July 4). The festival also marked the nearly 200 year state of official peace between the two neighbors since the end of the War of 1812. [1]
The festival featured several free events including car shows, concerts with local and big name bands, a midway with rides, vendors, beer gardens, complimentary breakfast each morning, and exotic animal displays. Past performers include Theory of a Deadman in 2008 and Hedley in 2010. In 2012, in lieu of a big name band, Fort Erie's Festival opted to put on a concert series throughout the entire festival, featuring 27 bands from the Niagara and Buffalo areas.
The Niagara River is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the river's name. According to Iroquoian scholar Bruce Trigger, Niagara is derived from the name given to a branch of the locally residing native Neutral Confederacy, who are described as being called the Niagagarega people on several late-17th-century French maps of the area. According to George R. Stewart, it comes from the name of an Iroquois town called Ongniaahra, meaning "point of land cut in two".
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). Incorporated on 12 June 1903, the city is across the river from Niagara Falls, New York. The Niagara River flows over Niagara Falls at this location, creating a natural spectacle which attracts millions of tourists each year.
Welland is a city in the Regional Municipality of Niagara in Southern Ontario, Canada. In 2016, it had a population of 52,293.
Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is directly across the river from Buffalo, New York and is the site of Old Fort Erie which played a prominent role in the War of 1812.
The Niagara Peninsula is the portion of Golden Horseshoe, Southern Ontario, Canada, lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the east to Hamilton, Ontario, in the west. The population of the peninsula is roughly 1,000,000 people. The region directly across the Niagara River and Lake Erie in New York State is known as the Niagara Frontier.
The Regional Municipality of Niagara, also colloquially known as the Niagara Region or Region of Niagara, is a regional municipality comprising twelve municipalities of Southern Ontario, Canada. The regional seat is in Thorold. It is the southern end of the Golden Horseshoe, the largest megalopolis in Canada.
Upstate New York is a geographic region consisting of the portion of New York State lying north of the New York City metropolitan area. Although the precise boundary is debated, Upstate New York excludes New York City and Long Island, and most definitions of the region exclude all or part of Westchester and Rockland counties. Major cities across Upstate New York from east to west include Albany, Utica, Binghamton, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo.
KeyBank Center, formerly known as Marine Midland Arena, HSBC Arena and First Niagara Center, is a multipurpose indoor arena located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It is the largest indoor arena in Western New York, seating 19,070 fans in its normal configuration, and was constructed primarily for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL), who have called the arena home since 1996, when it replaced the now-demolished Memorial Auditorium. The arena was renamed as KeyBank Center starting with the 2016–2017 NHL season. It is owned by Erie County and operated by Pegula Sports and Entertainment.
The Peace Bridge is an international bridge between Canada and the United States at the east end of Lake Erie at the source of the Niagara River, about 20 kilometres (12.4 mi) upriver of Niagara Falls. It connects Buffalo, New York, in the United States to Fort Erie, Ontario, in Canada. It is operated and maintained by the binational Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority.
Ridgeway is a small, unincorporated village in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The community is within the Niagara Regional Municipality. It used to be the seat of government for Bertie Township within Welland County. Ridgeway is now a part of the Town of Fort Erie. In recent years the rail line has been converted to a walking and cycling trail, part of a trail system circling the Niagara region.
The Buffalo River drains a 447-square-mile (1,160 km2) watershed in Western New York state, emptying into the eastern end of Lake Erie at the City of Buffalo. The river has three tributaries: Cayuga Creek, Buffalo Creek, and Cazenovia Creek.
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority is the agency established to regulate the Peace Bridge, which crosses the Canada–United States border. This bridge is designed to handle vehicle traffic between Buffalo in the American state of New York and Fort Erie in the Canadian province of Ontario.
The International Railway Company (IRC) was a transportation company formed in a 1902 merger between several Buffalo-area interurban and street railways. The city railways that merged were the West Side Street Railway, the Crosstown Street Railway and the Buffalo Traction Company. The suburban railroads that merged included the Buffalo & Niagara Electric Street Railway, and its subsidiary the Buffalo, Lockport & Olcott Beach Railway; the Buffalo, Depew & Lancaster Railway; and the Niagara Falls Park & River Railway. Later the IRC acquired the Niagara Gorge Railroad (NGRR) as a subsidiary, which was sold in 1924 to the Niagara Falls Power Company. The NGRR also leased the Lewiston & Youngstown Frontier Railroad.
Fort Erie Race Track is a horse racing facility in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, that opened on June 16, 1897. The racetrack is often referred to as "the border oval" because of the track's proximity to the U.S. border. Its most important race is the Prince of Wales Stakes, the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown.
Lafayette Square is a park in the center of downtown Buffalo, Erie County, New York, United States that hosts a Civil War monument. The block, which was once square, is lined by many of the city's tallest buildings. The square was named for General Lafayette, who visited Buffalo in 1825.
Fort Erie Transit provides local accessible bus service to the inhabitants of Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada, just across the Peace Bridge and the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York.
Broderick Park is a park situated along the Niagara River in Buffalo, New York, United States.
Canadian Motor Speedway was a proposed motorsports park that was planned to be built in Fort Erie, Ontario, Canada. The development would be located on an 821 acres adjacent to the Queen Elizabeth Way highway. It consists of a 1.2 kilometre progressive bank oval and 3.2 kilometre (2 mile) road c rse. With 65,000 seats and 40 suites, Canadian Motor Speedway would be the largest speedway in Canada and the second-largest sporting venue, in terms of seating capacity, in the country. Its location provides it with a large market area, being 6.4 kilometres (4 miles) from the Canada/USA border with Buffalo, N.Y. and 17 kilometres (11 miles) from Niagara Falls.
John Warren was a merchant and political figure in Upper Canada. He represented Haldimand in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada from 1831 to 1832.