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Not your mother's Niagara Falls
Wolfgang Puck is here. So is LL Cool J and Linda Lundstrom. With hotels, eateries and boutiques springing up, the 'honeymoon capital' is trading tackiness for cachet
DEIRDRE KELLY
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT. -- When the Toronto-based Kontent Group went looking for a cool locale in which to launch Sir, its new Canadian men's fashion magazine, CEO and creative director Michael King focused on Niagara Falls as the venue for a lavish party for 40 style-savvy guests.
"It was very clear to us 12 months ago that Niagara was on the cusp of cool," King says. "It's why we wanted to be there."
He says he was drawn to the town's "new energy," embodied by the spate of upscale development, including the swank billion-dollar Fallsview Casino Resort where the Sir party took place last fall.
"Niagara isn't the shy little country girl your mom and dad knew," says King, who with Geoffrey Dawe publishes the trend-conscious magazines Inside and FQ, as well as Sir. "She's all grown up, wearing a Dolce & Gabbana dress, and ready to party."
Print Edition - Section Front
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Culture and coolness are the new buzzwords around the Falls. They ring particularly loud at Avaia, a spectacular $10-million equestrian-based act created by the newly formed Cirque Niagara in association with Russia's famed Kantemirov circus family, who specialize in Cossack trick riding. It runs until Oct. 8 under the new $1.3-million Celestial Palace tent built to hold 1,500 people at a time at Rapidsview Park, opposite Marineland.
And the buzz will get louder still when Fuego!, Carmen Mota's flamenco show, arrives direct from Spain on Aug. 2.
While it may not be on every hipsters' to-do list, this summer's lineup at the Fallsview's Avalon Ballroom is a who's who of crooners and rockers: Elvis Costello, George Thorogood, Julio Iglesias, and Mr. Vegas himself, Wayne Newton.
Ottawa native Paul Anka was the first to play the Avalon when it opened in 2004, and he has since been spreading the word that the venue is state-of-the-art. "I love it because it is unique," he says. "I love the people, and mostly I love being back in Canada."
Tony Bennett, who played the Avalon in June at the beginning of the season, concurs that the new Niagara has a certain cachet. "The Avalon is one of the best new rooms," Bennett says. "Everyone seems to care about it. A very relaxing and very cool place."
Swank hotels, restaurants, boutiques and entertainment are turning the Falls into an overnight destination as much as a day trip, Tourism Niagara spokeswoman Carrie Kormos says. "It's about extending people's stay, making them want to come for more than the waters but for the food, the shopping, the entertainment," Kormos explains. "Now, there's a more adult experience to the Falls than there was before. It's a lot more sophisticated."
At present, four million people visit the Falls each year. By 2016, if development keeps pace with demand, the projection is for 30 million annual visitors.
According to Fallsview spokesman Greg Medulun, "The new Niagara Falls is now a guys' getaway, it's now a girls' getaway. It's a special-occasion town at a level that is more than just 'Honeymoon Capital of the World.' " These views run contrary to those recently voiced by local historian Paul Gromosiak in the PBS special Niagara Falls, aired on June 21. He called the Canadian border town "a 21st-century sideshow," in reference, no doubt, to the gaudy attractions lining gadget- and gewgaw-crazed Clifton Hill, home of the House of Frankenstein, Dracula Castle and, well, you may have been there, seen that, bought the T-shirt.
Clifton Hill is still going strong, but, Medulun says, "that's a stereotype the new Niagara Falls is trying to move away from."
Eclipsing the theme-park aspect of the town are pleasure domes of glass and marble that are part of a $2-billion redevelopment project aimed at increasing tourism expenditure to $2.7-billion next year, up from $1.8-billion in 2001.
The catalyst for change has been Casino Niagara. Since its opening in 1996, overnight stays jumped from an estimated 2.9 million to 3.8 million in 2001. That number is expected to top 4.3 million next year.
Tony businesses were quick to follow Casino Niagara's lead. Chip wagons made room for a Wolfgang Puck restaurant franchise. Then there's the recently opened Dragonfly, a 12,000-square-foot Asian-themed nightclub with dragon and terra-cotta warrior statuary and a 1,250-square-foot ceiling that lights up and pulses to the music.
Toronto club impresario Charles Khabouth, who created Dragonfly from custom-made bars, flooring and fabrics imported from China, says it's the first real nightclub in Niagara Falls, and "the most beautiful in North America, by far."
Even Khabouth is surprised to see something this vibrant in a town he once left for dead. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was go to Niagara Falls," he says. "But I think the new casino has potential, and I think Niagara Falls in the next two years will change quite a bit. It'll be where everyone wants to go."
The "new casino" is the Fallsview resort and gaming complex. Dragonfly is situated inside its glass-and-chrome-domed complex, modelled on the belle-époque Galleria in Milan, and next to the resort's five-star restaurant 17 Noir, whose interior is as black as the roulette table that inspired its design.
Against this inky backdrop, the Sir party unfolded, as did the magazine's fall fashion shoot. Through the windows was a dramatic view of the Falls, mist rising high over the thundering roar of the water. It's an awesome sight that never fails to impress (despite Oscar Wilde's declaration that it is the second-most-disappointing thing a woman experiences on her wedding night).
Which brings us back to the honeymoon capital. The Falls are said to emit an "ionic force" that serves as a natural aphrodisiac. (For once, it's true what they say: There's something in the water.)
But in the newfangled Niagara, is there room for an old-fashioned honeymoon? Niagara Tourism's Kormos says on-site nuptials are actually being encouraged by means of a new "upscale" wedding chapel launched last Valentine's Day. At least one bride was serenaded by blues giant B.B. King, playing the Avalon, when he found out she was a fan. "It's us putting a unique spin on the honeymoon capital idea," Kormos says.
Wolfgang Puck is here. So is LL Cool J and Linda Lundstrom. With hotels, eateries and boutiques springing up, the 'honeymoon capital' is trading tackiness for cachet
DEIRDRE KELLY
NIAGARA FALLS, ONT. -- When the Toronto-based Kontent Group went looking for a cool locale in which to launch Sir, its new Canadian men's fashion magazine, CEO and creative director Michael King focused on Niagara Falls as the venue for a lavish party for 40 style-savvy guests.
"It was very clear to us 12 months ago that Niagara was on the cusp of cool," King says. "It's why we wanted to be there."
He says he was drawn to the town's "new energy," embodied by the spate of upscale development, including the swank billion-dollar Fallsview Casino Resort where the Sir party took place last fall.
"Niagara isn't the shy little country girl your mom and dad knew," says King, who with Geoffrey Dawe publishes the trend-conscious magazines Inside and FQ, as well as Sir. "She's all grown up, wearing a Dolce & Gabbana dress, and ready to party."
Print Edition - Section Front
Enlarge Image
More National Stories
Ottawa to review help for non-resident citizens
Vigilante violence shakes serene N.B. tourist town
How a historic Quebec tree found support
After building Afghan school, B.C. humanitarian shot dead
Ontario teens taking fewer physical education classes
'Good night, my love,' Mountie's wife says
Go to the National section
Culture and coolness are the new buzzwords around the Falls. They ring particularly loud at Avaia, a spectacular $10-million equestrian-based act created by the newly formed Cirque Niagara in association with Russia's famed Kantemirov circus family, who specialize in Cossack trick riding. It runs until Oct. 8 under the new $1.3-million Celestial Palace tent built to hold 1,500 people at a time at Rapidsview Park, opposite Marineland.
And the buzz will get louder still when Fuego!, Carmen Mota's flamenco show, arrives direct from Spain on Aug. 2.
While it may not be on every hipsters' to-do list, this summer's lineup at the Fallsview's Avalon Ballroom is a who's who of crooners and rockers: Elvis Costello, George Thorogood, Julio Iglesias, and Mr. Vegas himself, Wayne Newton.
Ottawa native Paul Anka was the first to play the Avalon when it opened in 2004, and he has since been spreading the word that the venue is state-of-the-art. "I love it because it is unique," he says. "I love the people, and mostly I love being back in Canada."
Tony Bennett, who played the Avalon in June at the beginning of the season, concurs that the new Niagara has a certain cachet. "The Avalon is one of the best new rooms," Bennett says. "Everyone seems to care about it. A very relaxing and very cool place."
Swank hotels, restaurants, boutiques and entertainment are turning the Falls into an overnight destination as much as a day trip, Tourism Niagara spokeswoman Carrie Kormos says. "It's about extending people's stay, making them want to come for more than the waters but for the food, the shopping, the entertainment," Kormos explains. "Now, there's a more adult experience to the Falls than there was before. It's a lot more sophisticated."
At present, four million people visit the Falls each year. By 2016, if development keeps pace with demand, the projection is for 30 million annual visitors.
According to Fallsview spokesman Greg Medulun, "The new Niagara Falls is now a guys' getaway, it's now a girls' getaway. It's a special-occasion town at a level that is more than just 'Honeymoon Capital of the World.' " These views run contrary to those recently voiced by local historian Paul Gromosiak in the PBS special Niagara Falls, aired on June 21. He called the Canadian border town "a 21st-century sideshow," in reference, no doubt, to the gaudy attractions lining gadget- and gewgaw-crazed Clifton Hill, home of the House of Frankenstein, Dracula Castle and, well, you may have been there, seen that, bought the T-shirt.
Clifton Hill is still going strong, but, Medulun says, "that's a stereotype the new Niagara Falls is trying to move away from."
Eclipsing the theme-park aspect of the town are pleasure domes of glass and marble that are part of a $2-billion redevelopment project aimed at increasing tourism expenditure to $2.7-billion next year, up from $1.8-billion in 2001.
The catalyst for change has been Casino Niagara. Since its opening in 1996, overnight stays jumped from an estimated 2.9 million to 3.8 million in 2001. That number is expected to top 4.3 million next year.
Tony businesses were quick to follow Casino Niagara's lead. Chip wagons made room for a Wolfgang Puck restaurant franchise. Then there's the recently opened Dragonfly, a 12,000-square-foot Asian-themed nightclub with dragon and terra-cotta warrior statuary and a 1,250-square-foot ceiling that lights up and pulses to the music.
Toronto club impresario Charles Khabouth, who created Dragonfly from custom-made bars, flooring and fabrics imported from China, says it's the first real nightclub in Niagara Falls, and "the most beautiful in North America, by far."
Even Khabouth is surprised to see something this vibrant in a town he once left for dead. "The last thing I ever wanted to do was go to Niagara Falls," he says. "But I think the new casino has potential, and I think Niagara Falls in the next two years will change quite a bit. It'll be where everyone wants to go."
The "new casino" is the Fallsview resort and gaming complex. Dragonfly is situated inside its glass-and-chrome-domed complex, modelled on the belle-époque Galleria in Milan, and next to the resort's five-star restaurant 17 Noir, whose interior is as black as the roulette table that inspired its design.
Against this inky backdrop, the Sir party unfolded, as did the magazine's fall fashion shoot. Through the windows was a dramatic view of the Falls, mist rising high over the thundering roar of the water. It's an awesome sight that never fails to impress (despite Oscar Wilde's declaration that it is the second-most-disappointing thing a woman experiences on her wedding night).
Which brings us back to the honeymoon capital. The Falls are said to emit an "ionic force" that serves as a natural aphrodisiac. (For once, it's true what they say: There's something in the water.)
But in the newfangled Niagara, is there room for an old-fashioned honeymoon? Niagara Tourism's Kormos says on-site nuptials are actually being encouraged by means of a new "upscale" wedding chapel launched last Valentine's Day. At least one bride was serenaded by blues giant B.B. King, playing the Avalon, when he found out she was a fan. "It's us putting a unique spin on the honeymoon capital idea," Kormos says.
