Travel Niagara Falls: Festival of Lights - Various light displays

As it started to get dark on day 1 of my Niagara Falls discoveries, I went on a little drive beside the Niagara River to a place called Dufferin Islands that features many animated lighting displays. Every year the "Festival of Lights" brightens up Niagara Falls and the entire city is decked out in colourful lights from early November to early January. A real highlight was yet to come: my visit to the Illumination Tower of the Niagara Parks Commission. Located just steps away from the imposing Horseshoe Falls, a former surge tank that used to be part of the electricity generating facilities in Niagara Falls has been turned into an illumination powerhouse that lights up the falls in colourful displays of the entire rainbow. I met the star of the show: 76-year old Pete Gordon who has been a "lighting operator" with the Parks Commission for the last 43 years. Pete showed me around, explained the 18 huge searchlights (which have incidentally been used in the Battle of London during WWII) and even let me operate the rather ancient-looking lighting controls myself. Pete is passionate about what he does and a true ambassador for the City of Niagara Falls. He even invited me on a personal tour to show me around his favourite town the next time I come to Niagara Falls -- a definite highlight of my Niagara Falls trip.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Canada
• Niagara
• Falls
• Ontario
• Festival
• of
• Lights
• Illumination
• Tower
• Destination
• Travel
• Log

[patrick25w]

It makes me so sad that americans and canadians don't have good free health insurance. So sad ! oh no.