The Winter Festival of Lights in Niagara Falls, Ontario, is Canada's largest lights festival. [1] It runs from mid-November to mid-January and attracts over one million visitors annually. [2] The event has free admission while accepting voluntary donations. As of 2023, it features a decorated eight-kilometre route along the Niagara Parkway that extends into the tourist districts and the Dufferin Islands. [3] The lights are installed and run by Ontario Power Generation. [4]
The Winter Festival of Lights was founded in 1982 with the mandate of developing tourism in Niagara Falls during the winter months. [4] Its creation was inspired by a lights festival that started in Niagara Falls, New York, in 1981, [5] that was also intended attract tourists to Niagara Falls during the off-season. This separate event in New York was held annually until 2001. [6] The early editions of the festivals competed with the New York event and did not perform as well as their counterpart. [7] Recurring themes in the annual displays are a variety of designs. Religious displays have included a Hanukkah menorah, Noah's Ark, and Hajj. [8] Recurring sections of the route include areas dubbed the "Royal Promenade", "Frosted Falls", "Enchanted Forest" and "Great Canadian North". [9]
In 1999, The Walt Disney Company began partnering with the event, allowing for the illuminated display of Disney characters. [10] During this partnership, a section of the route in Queen Victoria Park contained these animated displays as "Enchantment of Disney". [11] This partnership continued until 2013, when Disney made the decision to limit depictions of these characters to their own theme parks. [12] Korean lanterns replaced the Disney displays for 2014, [13] to celebrate fifty years of diplomatic relations between Canada and South Korea. [14] Other themed light displays have since replaced where the Disney displays were previously held. [12] The 2024 event had 75 light displays which were composed of three million individual lights. [15]
Niagara Falls is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the border between the province of Ontario in Canada and the state of New York in the United States. The largest of the three is Horseshoe Falls, which straddles the international border of the two countries. It is also known as the Canadian Falls. The smaller American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls lie within the United States. Bridal Veil Falls is separated from Horseshoe Falls by Goat Island and from American Falls by Luna Island, with both islands situated in New York.
Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada, adjacent to, and named after, Niagara Falls. As of the 2021 census, the city had a population of 94,415. The city is located on the Niagara Peninsula along the western bank of the Niagara River, which forms part of the Canada–United States border, with the other side being the twin city of Niagara Falls, New York. Niagara Falls is within the Regional Municipality of Niagara and a part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census Metropolitan Area (CMA).
St. Catharines is the most populous city in Canada's Niagara Region, the eighth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2017, St. Catharines has an area of 96.13 square kilometres (37.12 sq mi) and 140,370 residents. It lies in Southern Ontario, 51 kilometres (32 mi) south of Toronto across Lake Ontario, and is 19 kilometres (12 mi) inland from the international boundary with the United States along the Niagara River. It is the northern entrance of the Welland Canal. Residents of St. Catharines are known as St. Catharinites. St. Catharines carries the official nickname "The Garden City" due to its 1,000 acres (4 km2) of parks, gardens, and trails.
Thorold is a city in Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. It is also the seat of the Regional Municipality of Niagara. The Welland Canal passes through the city, featuring lock 7 and the Twin Flight Locks.
Canada has a large domestic and foreign tourism industry. The second largest country in the world, Canada's wide geographical variety is a significant tourist attractor. Much of the country's tourism is centred in the following regions: Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Vancouver/Whistler, Niagara Falls, Vancouver Island, Canadian Rockies, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley, Churchill, Manitoba and the National Capital Region of Ottawa-Gatineau. The large cities are known for their culture, diversity, as well as the many national parks and historic sites.
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.
Lakeshore West is one of the seven train lines of the GO Transit system in the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. It extends from Union Station in Toronto to Hamilton, along the shore of Lake Ontario. Some train trips extend past Hamilton to St. Catharines and Niagara Falls.
Marineland is a themed zoo and amusement park in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It is operating on a reduced scale while it is slated for redevelopment. No amusement rides are operating and it is claimed that all land animals have been transferred from the facility, however videos in 2024 showed large numbers of deer and some bears still on site. The park continues to exhibit dolphins and beluga whales.
Festival of Lights or Celebration of Light may refer to:
CJED-FM is a radio station in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada and targeting the Greater Niagara Falls area, including the Niagara Region in Ontario and the Buffalo-Niagara Falls metropolitan area in New York. The station operates a hot adult contemporary format branded as 105.1 The River. CJED's studios are located on Ontario Avenue in Niagara Falls. Initially the transmitter was located on the Skylon Tower next to Niagara Falls, but it was later moved to a new site in Thorold.
Cullen Gardens & Miniature Village was a popular tourist attraction in Whitby, Ontario, Canada. Officially opened in May 1980 by founder Len Cullen and his wife Connie, the Gardens were a major tourist attraction in Whitby for 25 years.
Michael Vincent "Mike" Strange is a Canadian Politician, philanthropist and former amateur boxer. As an amateur boxer, he competed at three consecutive Summer Olympics as a light welterweight, starting in 1992 in Barcelona, Spain.
WWE Niagara Falls was a retail store located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. It was owned and operated by Canadian Niagara Hotels Inc., with its name and branding being licensed by the WWE. It was the second WWE establishment to open up after The World in 1999, and the first WWE establishment to open outside of the United States. After The World closed in 2003, it became the only official WWE retail store in the world.
The Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights was a display of Christmas lights and decorations at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida. Initially constructed by an Arkansas businessman as a gift for his six-year-old daughter, the display became one of the most popular attractions during the park's holiday season. It debuted in 1995.
Saint Michael Catholic High School(Often shortened to STM or Saint Mikes) is a Catholic high school in Niagara Falls, Ontario. It serves 1200 pupils in grades 9–12 and is governed by the Niagara Catholic District School Board. Saint Michael opened in 1989 and moved to its current building in 2004. The school was named after Saint Michael the Archangel.
Ontario is Canada's largest province in population and second largest province in size, covering slightly more than one million square kilometres. It borders the United States to the south, and the provinces of Quebec to the east and Manitoba to the west. Around 250,000 lakes can be found in Ontario, making up approximately one-third of the world's fresh water.
Queen Victoria Park is the main parkland located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada opposite the American and Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Established by the Niagara Falls Park Act in 1885 and opened in 1888, the park is operated by the Niagara Parks Commission and is considered the centerpiece of the Niagara Falls recreational tourist area.
A winter festival, winter carnival, snow festival, or frost fair is an outdoor cold weather celebration that occurs in wintertime.
A winter light festival is one of several annual events organized in different part of the world and among different cultures, to celebrate the end of the winter and the beginning of the light seasons with art workshops, light designs, live music and street food. Originally, this kind of celebration had a religious and spiritual meaning, to celebrate the end of the dark period of the year and the beginning of the days of light. Nowadays, these events have lost the spiritual meaning to leave much more space to the consumeristic
The Niagara Falls Convention Centre is a convention centre located in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, along Stanley Avenue and Dunn Street. It was previously known as the Scotiabank Convention Centre from 2011 to 2021 and was renamed after Scotiabank's naming rights expired.