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Niagara Falls New Years
Niagara Falls New Years Party!
Ring in 2016 at Canada's largest FREE New Year's Eve extravaganza
Date: December 31st 2015
Times: Starts at 8:00 PM
Location: Queen Victoria Park
Price: Free
Featured Artists: Tom Cochrane & Red Rider, Dennis DeYoung & the Music of Styx, Down With Webster as well as Alan Doyle & The Beautiful Gypsies!
Canadian rock legend Tom Cochrane will headline at Canada's Largest New Years bash at Queen Victoria Park!
The Niagara Parks Commission (NPC) and its New Year's Eve event partners are pleased to announce an exciting roster of musical talent has been assembled for this year’s FREE New Year's concert in Queen Victoria Park. On December 31st, legendary rocker Tom Cochrane, Dennis Deyoung & the Music of Styx, Down with Webster & Alan Doyle take to the stage at 8 p.m. to entertain and rock in the New Year.
The Niagara Falls New Year's concert in Queen Victoria Park (QVP) draws approximately 50,000 people to the Park, and this year is expected to be no different, so come out and celebrate with us and enjoy two spectacular fireworks displays planned for 8:45 p.m. and midnight that evening.
New Year’s Eve is one of Niagara Falls’ busiest and best nights of the year! It is exciting to see the whole city coming alive, as Niagara provides more to do than anywhere else in Canada on this special night. Visitors and residents alike should come on down and enjoy the entire tourism district in full swing – from great music in Queen Victoria Park to family fun at Clifton Hill's World Famous Street, to the high-energy gaming at the Niagara Casinos; as well as enjoy the many restaurants and spectacular hotel getaways, Niagara is the place to be on New year’s Eve.
Tom Cochrane: Juno Award winner Tom Cochrane first caught the public's attention in the '80s when he was the lead singer of the popular Canadian rock group Red Rider. Other early members were guitarist Ken Greer, drummer Rob Baker, keyboardist Peter Boynton, and bassist Jeff Jones. The band recorded several well-received albums. By the next decade, Cochrane was taking the spotlight by turning to a prolific solo career that encompassed a heavy touring schedule that carried him across Canada and saw him find favor in the United States as well. He recorded a number of albums and had some big hits, such as "Life Is a Highway." All of the overnight success came from years of hard work that started in his childhood when he first began penning musical tunes. Cochrane was born in 1953 in Lynn Lake, a mining town in Manitoba, Canada. His family moved to Ontario before he was of school age. It was there that he wrote his first song when he was only 11, and was the proud owner of his first guitar before he hit his teens. Once Cochrane was old enough to enter bars, he started landing jobs entertaining in them. By 1980 Cochrane had earned plenty of experience and a spot as lead singer for a group known as Red Rider. That same year, the band released their debut album, Don't Fight It. The full-length offering sold better than hoped for, and brought in rave reviews and a gold hit single, "White Hot." Over the next few years, Red Rider recorded over half-a-dozen albums and pulled off several big hits, many written by Cochrane. -Charlotte Dillon
Dennis Deyong: The keyboardist/vocalist of Chicago-based arena rock band, Styx, Dennis DeYoung continues to cultivate a successful solo career. Recording on his own as early as 1984, DeYoung produced four impressive solo albums -- Desert Moon, Back to the World, and Boomchild before reuniting briefly with his former bandmates in 1990. The reunion proved to be brief, however, and Styx disbanded a second time shortly after releasing an album, Edge of the Century. DeYoung used the opportunity to record his fourth solo album, 10 on Broadway, which celebrated the influence of such composers as George and Ira Gershwin, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice. Although he returned to Styx when they reunited again in 1996, and played on their first studio album in eight years, Return to Paradise, a serious viral ailment that made him sensitive to light, caused him to bow out of a national tour. By the time that he recuperated, Styx had replaced him with a new singer, Lawrence Gowan. Attempting to sue over the use of the band's name, DeYoung settled out of court in late 2001. Forced to rely on his own talents, DeYoung wasted no time. He composed and recorded a musical based on Victor Hugo's novel, Hunchback of Notre Dame, played Pontius Pilate in a touring production of Jesus Christ Superstar, and re-recorded the Styx hit, "The Grand Illusion" for Siegfried and Roy's IMEX film. Tracks from his first three solo albums were compiled and released in 1999 as Ultimate Collection. ~ Craig Harris
Alan Doyle & the Beautiful Gypsies: Alan Doyle, actor, producer, newly-minted best-selling author, and best-known as lead singer for Newfoundland’s beloved Great Big Sea these past 20+ years, released his second solo album, So Let’s Go, last January via Universal Music Canada (UMC), the country’s leading music company. Title-track lead single So Let’s Go, is a rousing rallying cry that’s only further proof of Doyle’s ability to draw the listener under his banner. Doyle is nearing the end of his North American tour, with Niagara Falls recently added. Newfoundland's Alan Doyle learned piano and drums as a child, soon moving on to guitar (and eventually mandolin, bouzouki, and pretty much anything with strings). He joined his uncle's rockabilly-meets-traditional-Newfoundland band the New Standells at the age of 15, and while attending St. John's University, he was one half of a duo (with John Benton) called Staggering Home. Following a series of informal jam sessions with members of the Celtic rock band Rankin Street (Sean McCann, Bob Hallett, and Darrell Power), Doyle joined forces with them and Great Big Sea were born. Mixing traditional Newfoundland music with a fresh pop sensibility, and with Doyle handling lead vocals, the band released a self-titled album independently in 1992, and then signed with Warner Canada, which promptly reissued the debut. Some ten studio albums followed as Great Big Sea grew into one of Canada's biggest and most respected bands. Doyle issued a solo album, Boy on Bridge, in 2012. ~ Steve Leggett
Down With Webster
Canadian rap-rock group Down with Webster made their major-label debut in 2009 with the mini-album Time to Win, Vol. 1. Based in Toronto and founded when the bandmembers were in junior high school, the seven-man band was initially comprised of Bucky (vocals), Cam (vocals), Kap (vocals), Pat (vocals, guitar), Tyler (bass, keyboards), Marty (drums), and Diggy (turntables). After establishing themselves as an exciting live band on the independent music scene, Down with Webster were offered a recording contract with Universal Motown Records and shortly thereafter issued Time to Win, Vol. 1, a seven-track mini-album that spawned the radio hit "Rich Girls" (whose hook is an interpolation of the 1970s blue-eyed soul classic "Rich Girl" by Hall & Oates). Prior to the release of Time to Win, Vol. 1, the band joined the 2009 Vans Warped Tour for a series of summertime dates and later toured with fellow Universal Motown Records recording act Forever the Sickest Kids in the autumn. In 2011, Down with Webster announced that Kap had left the band due to creative differences. The single "She's Dope," from the band's forthcoming Time to Win, Vol. 2, was released in May of 2011. - Jason Birchmeier
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Book your Niagara Falls hotel now for the premiere New Year's Eve event in Canada, held in the most recognizable location in Canada - Niagara Falls!
Please note no alcohol is permitted on-site and as always, dress appropriately for all outdoor events. A variety of food and beverage vendors will be available, you won't have to go far for refreshments during this spectacular celebration. And with our outdoor licensed area, everything you need is right here! As always, the presence of security and policing will be on-site to ensure everyone's safety throughout the night.
The Winter Festival of Lights strives to offer events like the New Year's Eve Concert Extravaganza at no charge to the public however it does cost a considerable amount of money to host these great shows so we appreciate the donations made by those attending the New Year's Eve Party. Look for our Donation Barrels placed within Queen Victoria Park and feel good knowing that your contribution helps.
Directions/Parking
The best parking lot that is close to not only the concert in the park, both casinos (Casino Niagara and Fallsview Casino), Fallsview Blvd. and all the main Clifton Hill attractions, is just off Robinson Street. If you enter the parking lot from the back, you will fare much better in getting in quickly. Below, you will find a map of this lot. It is large and extends from the Clifton Hill all the way to the Skylon Tower. You should have no problem finding a parking spot here, and the price to park will be much cheaper than along the Niagara Parkway, which will actually be closed down in sections.
How to get here:
Route #1 From Highway 420 1. Once you are on Highway 420 heading towards the Falls 2. Turn RIGHT onto Stanley Avenue 3. Take Stanley past Lundy's Lane 4. LEFT on Robinson Street. 5. Continue Straight and before you hit the dead-end go LEFT into the Clifton Hill back entrance. Once parked, it's a quick walk to the main event.
Route #2 From Highway 20 (turns into Lundy's Lane) 1. Follow Highway 20 passed Thorold Townline Road (where it turns into Lundy's Lane) 2. Turn RIGHT onto Stanley Avenue 3. Turn LEFT on Robinson Street 4. Continue straight and before you hit the dead-end go LEFT into the Clifton Hill back entrance. Once you're here, you will find parking spots and a quick walk to the Jolley Cut which takes you down to the event.
Route #3 From Thorold Stone Road 1. If you are on the QEW heading south towards Niagara Falls you will see signs for Thorold Stone Road. 2. Take the Thorold Stone Road exit and turn LEFT, continue all the way through to Stanley Avenue, slight right. 3. Follow Stanley Ave past Highway 420 and Lundy's Lane 4. Turn LEFT on Robinson Street 5. Continue straight and before you hit the dead-end go LEFT into the Clifton Hill back entrance. Once parked, it's a quick walk to the main event.
Route #4 From McLeod Road 1. On the QEW, head south towards the Falls and take the McLeod Rd exit and turn left. 2. Travel through to the Marineland Parkway and turn LEFT on Stanley Ave 3. Turn RIGHT onto Robinson Street 4. Continue straight and before you hit the dead-end go LEFT into the Clifton Hill back entrance. Once parked, it's a quick walk to the main event.
*Please note that exiting off the 420 onto Stanley Avenue will most surely be backed up all the way to Lundy's Lane. Your best bet would be to stay on the QEW Niagara and then get off at McLeod Road and backtrack (Route#4). You will be less likely to hit heavy traffic then.*
For further New Year's Eve Party in Niagara Concert information, visit www.niagaraparks.com.
Your best deal for seeing the greatest attractions on Clifton Hill is with the Clifton Hill Fun Pass! A great way to save money on the most popular attractions!
- Niagara Skywheel
- Movieland Wax Museum
- Ghost Blasters Dark Ride
- Wild West Coaster
- Dinosaur Adventure Golf or Wizards’ Golf
Includes Bonus Spin on the Skywheel!
