Winter Festival of Lights has Many Reasons to Celebrate

Many Reasons to Celebrate!

Winter Festival of Lights has many reasons to celebrate
The Ontario Power Generation WFOL was record breaking in 2016/17

The Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights (WFOL) is proud to announce a record breaking event for the 2016/17 edition.  The Festival set new heights for attendance, donations, volunteer hours and economic impact.  “We were pleased to add new light displays in a number of areas across Niagara Falls, while introducing new programming including the Deck the Falls Holiday Walking Tour and the new 3D projection in Fallsview BIA,” stated Tina Myers, Executive Director of WFOL.

These additions resulted in over 1.33 million visitors coming to Niagara Falls to experience the Festival (80% coming from outside Niagara Falls), more than 71,000 vehicles enjoying WFOL’s light displays in Dufferin Islands (13% increase over last year), and over 4,600 hours contributed by WFOL’s volunteers, including 145 hours from volunteer Bob Boyle, who received the Rick Stokes Exceptional Volunteer Award for this year’s event.  WFOL contracted a third party market research study that showed the Festival produced an economic impact in excess of $62 million.

On March 3 at the Festivals & Events Ontario (FEO) conference, the Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights was recognized as a FEO Festival of Distinction and also as a Top 100 Festival in Ontario.  In addition, Executive Director Tina Myers was re-elected to the Festival and Events Ontario Board for a second term.  The good news continued in March when the WFOL received confirmation from the Ontario Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport that it will receive a $100,000 grant for expanded programming for WFOL’s 35^th annual event coming up this fall/winter.

WFOL would like to thank its sponsors, including Ontario Power Generation, the City of Niagara Falls, BIAs, the Niagara Parks Commission, Ontario Yours to Discover, Tourism Partnership of Niagara and Fallsview Casino Resort, Global News, Niagara Peninsula Energy, Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, David Whysall International Fireworks, Shear Display, Laser Quantum, Niagara Helicopters, CogecoTV, Tim Hortons, ManPower, Gales Fueling Niagara, FENA Insurance, Coventry Transportation, Untangled Digital, Home Depot, and Niagara Falls Tourism for their continued support.

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About the Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights
The Ontario Power Generation Winter Festival of Lights transforms Niagara Falls into a winter wonderland with millions of sparkling lights and breathtaking illuminations. The Festival takes place annually from mid-November to the end of January. The eight kilometre Festival illumination route runs along the Niagara Parkway, past the Falls, into Dufferin Islands and the surrounding districts of Fallsview Boulevard, Victoria Centre, Clifton Hill and Lundy’s Lane. The Festival’s iconic lighting displays, special events and attractions have become a tradition for more than one million visitors each year. Make it your winter tradition. For festival details please visit www.wfol.com.

Ontario Power Generation (OPG) is proud to be part of the Niagara Falls community and the Winter Festival of Lights. For more than 90 years, OPG’s Sir Adam Beck hydroelectric stations in Niagara Falls have generated clean, renewable power. Today, more than 99 per cent of the electricity OPG produces is free of emissions that cause smog or climate change. For more information please visit www.opg.com.