Niagara Falls Fun - Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls Canada

Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort

Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort Overhauls Website
The Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort has recently overhauled its official website, and it is a huge improvement over their previous version.

The site is broken up into nine main sections: Gaming, Player Rewards, Entertainment, Hotel, Dining, Amenities, Directions, Group Sales and Virutal Tours.

Some features of the site include:
-Flash Animations
-Virtual Tours
-Concert Schedule
-Hotel Bookings
-Exclusive Mailing List

Click here to see the new site

Printed by the Review

Dressed up downtown
Art Saturdays celebrates with costume party
Posted By JOHN LAW REVIEW STAFF WRITER

Decades ago, Nellie Cirillo bought her wedding outfit on Queen Street.

She has rarely been back since.

“When I was a teenager, we all used to come here on Thursday nights,” she recalled. “But I haven’t been to Queen Street for years.”

That all changed Saturday. And she wore a costume for the occasion. She was decked out for the Creative Creature costume competition, part of the festivities for the kickoff of Art Saturdays. The contest is fun, she said, but just soaking in Queen Street again was the real thrill.

“I love it -it’s just like Europe,” she said. “It’s very quaint and relaxing.”  (more…)

Source: abcnews.go.com
Originally posted Sept. 16, 2008

Niagara Falls: A Tale of Two Cities
New York and Canadian Cities Seem Like Two Different Worlds Economically
By JONANN BRADY
Sept. 16, 2008

As manufacturing jobs left the area in droves, upstate New York’s economy has been struggling for well over a decade.
The community around Niagara Falls struggles, but in Canada it’s another story.

Rome, N.Y., once known as Copper City for its wire mills, suffered a major blow when an Air Force base shut down in 1995.

As “GMA” passed through the city on its Whistle-Stop Tour, residents talked about the tough times they’ve faced.

“Rome doesn’t have anything for jobs,” one unemployed woman told Robin Roberts. “If you want a good job, you need to be able to travel outside of Rome.” (more…)

Source: niagara-gazette.com
Originally posted September 17, 2008

NIAGARA FALLS: Freedom Trail Festival set for Saturday
Staff Reports
Niagara Gazette

The history of the Underground Railroad will be celebrated during the ninth-annual Freedom Trail Festival on Saturday.

Art and history will join together between the hours of noon and 6 p.m. as north Main Street near Cleveland Avenue will come alive with the sights, sounds and smells of music, poetry, dramatic recreations and food vendors. (more…)

Source: Niagara Gazette

NIAGARA FALLS: Rescue story of special interest to visitor

Virginia man visits spot of 1960 incident
By Don Glynn

Phil Badvini of Arlington, Va., took a little longer than the typical visitor Wednesday when he toured Terrapin Point.

A short distance upstream from the brink of the Horseshoe Falls. Badvini stopped for a closer look along the railing between the pathway and the treacherous currents. (more…)

Source: Niagara Gazette

Originally printed September 12, 2008

NIAGARA FALLS: Maid of the Mist owners buying hotel
Tourist attraction owners purchasing Comfort Inn The Pointe
By Mark Scheer

The owners of one of the most recognizable tourist attractions in Niagara Falls are about to venture where they have never gone before — the local hotel business.

Maid of the Mist Corp., the company whose tour boat operation provides visitors with an up-close view of the falls, has reached an agreement to purchase the Comfort Inn The Pointe from its current owner, Sevenson Hotel Associates.

Tim Ruddy, vice president of marketing for Maid of the Mist, confirmed Friday the sale is expected to close in January. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. (more…)

Source: ABC NEWS

Like Cuomo, Before the Falls
A Death-Defying Stunt, but Is Anyone Paying Attention?
Posted by LEE FERRAN on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 7:58:46 AM EDT

It’s very early in the morning aboard the “GMA” Whistle-Stop ’08 Tour train, and Chris Cuomo is cool.
Chris Cuomo
“GMA” anchor Chris Cuomo was tethered by a harness — just in case — above Niagara Falls.
(ABC News)

Not cool like James Dean cool (although that’s debatable), but cool like Tiger Woods on the 18th hole at the Masters cool.  And he needs to be.

Today we’re headed to Niagara Falls, N.Y., for what I’ve been told are breathtaking views and a few major surprises, including a life-threatening, death-defying, insanity-inspired stunt that is only now being slightly overhyped.

They really don’t tell me much, but I do know that at some point Chris’ life could literally be on the line and that he’ll get a view of the falls few people get, save those that have been over in a barrel.

But if there’s anyone who can pull this off, I’m sure that at least Chris thinks he can. (more…)

Printed from the Review

Cafe charm for Queen Street
Diane Olsen opening cozy coffee shop this weekend
Posted By JOHN LAW REVIEW STAFF WRITER

When it comes to expansion, Diana Olsen clearly isn’t in a hurry.

She opened her first Balzac’s Cafe in Stratford 12 years ago. In that time, competitors like Starbucks, Tim Hortons and The Second Cup have multiplied like bunnies on a caffeine binge.

But Balzac’s and its European-style atmosphere has added just two locations, in Toronto’s Distillery District in 2002 and Irwin Toy Factory in 2006.

“I grow organically,” says the 45- year-old entrepreneur. “I don’t look for locations. They come through word-of-mouth.”

This year, Niagara-on-the-Lake looked to be the site of the next Balzac’s, but something strange happened along the way: Olsen took a walk down Queen Street in Niagara Falls, where she met Historic Niagara Development, Inc. president Mordechai Grun -the catalyst for Queen Street’s revitalization efforts.

It turns out, he was going to contact Balzac’s at some point to sell them on Niagara Falls. And here was the founder strolling along Queen Street.

It wasn’t just weird, she laughs. It was fate. (more…)

Source: Marketwatch.com

IHOP Opens First Location in Ontario, Canada
Brand Continues International Expansion; Four New International Locations Planned for 2008

Last update: 4:05 p.m. EDT Sept. 15, 2008
GLENDALE, CA, Sep 15, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — IHOP, one of America’s favorite restaurants for breakfast, lunch and dinner, today announced the opening of its first franchise restaurant in Ontario, Canada, extending the iconic fifty-year old brand into a new international region. The first IHOP in Eastern Canada opened in Niagara Falls, Ontario on Sept. 13.

The new restaurant marks IHOP’s 13th location in Canada; there are currently 12 IHOPs throughout the province of British Columbia. Franchisee Pancakes Canada Limited, controlled by long time Ontario restaurant operators the Alfieri Group, opened the restaurant and has an agreement to develop two additional IHOP restaurants over the next five years, including a portion of Niagara Falls and the city of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Pancakes Canada Limited is a new franchisee to the IHOP system and the Alfieri Group possesses more than 55 years of restaurant operations experience, with successful casual Italian themed restaurant operations also located in Niagara Falls, Ontario. (more…)

Source: OttawaCitizen.com

‘The prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world’
Guylaine Spencer, The Times

Picture yourself rollerblading through a gallery of Impressionist paintings. Now you’ve got some idea of what it’s like to cruise the river-hugging Niagara Parkway during the brief but brilliant fall-colour season.

The route Winston Churchill called “the prettiest Sunday afternoon drive in the world” puts on its best dress once a year, usually during the last week of September and the first couple of weeks in October.

As a native of the region, I can only say one thing to visitors who come to marvel at the famous Niagara Falls: “Don’t miss out on the other natural wonder of our world!” (more…)