Archive for the ‘Attractions’ Category

Wow, what a great idea and it’s finally coming. A skating rink called Rink at the Brink.

This skating rink is the latest attraction to Niagara Falls and it will operate during the Festival of Lights which opens November 27th, 2009. The skating rink is 18×36 metres (or about 60×120 feet), a good size for fun skating.

The rink will be in operation until the end of February 2010. It will have a steel and glass roof and have clear span windows so you can enjoy the view of Niagara Falls and will be open from 10AM to 10PM every day. I like the price too. Only $8 for adults and $5.75 for kids. You can even rent skates.

So get your blades out and sharpened, this promises to be a great attraction.

From School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-According to an author’s note about this story’s origins, Charles endows her retelling with the strong, compassionate heroine of the Iroquois version rather than the passive girl of European renditions. Lelawala’s Seneca tribe, situated by the Niagara River, has been prosperous for as long as memory. When sickness strikes, Lelawala’s mother, wife of the chief, is among its many victims. Thinking that Hinu, the thunder god, is angry with them, the people send canoes filled with offerings over the great falls to his cave behind them. But the sickness persists. When Lelawala overhears the tribal leaders pondering sacrificing one of their people to Hinu, she volunteers herself. The depictions of people are inexpert, but the author/illustrator excels in capturing the roiling, pounding water, especially as the girl is thrown from her canoe and carried down the falls. She learns that the great god is powerless to fight a horned snake poisoning t (more…)

Amazon.com Review
Sometimes a place can be as good a subject for a “biography” as a person–and Niagara Falls turns out to be such a place. Fortunately, it found its ideal biographer in Canadian historian Pierre Berton, who chronicles its colorful history with a storyteller’s verve. Niagara Falls was a sort of laboratory and breeding ground for a wide variety of American phenomena: carnivals and theme parks, destination tourism, industrialization based on cheap hydroelectric power, and the conservation movement, among others. Berton weaves all this together in a readable, well-paced book rich with anecdotes, memorable characters, and nicely crafted language.
–This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Publishers Weekly
The first Europeans to see Niagara Falls were struck with an awe akin to terror, but with the passage of a couple of centuries the site came to be regarded as the ultimate symbol of God’s creative power. Eve (more…)

As one of the Seven Wonders of the World – not to mention the honeymoon capital of North America – Niagara Falls is indisputably one of this continent’s most important tourist destinations. For the millions of visitors – year-in, year-out – and for residents of the area, author Hans Tammemagi’s Exploring Niagara turns a wide-angle lens on one of the most diverse and fascinating corners of Canada and in so doing opens our eyes to the fact that as wondrous as it is, there is a great deal more to the Niagara region than the Falls. Covering both sides of the Canada-U.S. border, and all within about a 30-minute drive of the Falls, the book unveils more than 50 tours and day trips to and through places of interest in the Niagara region. Descriptions of the trips themselves – varying from under an hour to several days – detail the historical and geographical highlights of each destination, and offer up a variety, suggesting tours that can be taken by car, by bicycle, or on foo (more…)

A recent addition to Niagara Falls attractions is the Niagara SkyWheel. This super observation wheel is one of the better rides and the view of the actual Niagara Falls is terrific.

At just $9.99 for adults and $5.99 for children (plus those pesky taxes of course), it is also a bargain.

What makes this nice is the fact that you don’t sit in open seats but instead in a gondola that is both heated and air conditioned.

There are 42 goldolas and at 6 passengers per, there’s plenty of room so lineups are minimal. You rise 175 feet (53 meters) over the falls for 10 minutes.

There are a lot of cheezy attractions in Niagara, but the SkyWheel isn’t one of them.