Happy New(s) Year! The countdown is on to bring in 2019

   One-Tank Trip for Dec. 22/18

   (c) By Jim Fox

   Bidding adieu to 2018 will be that much more festive if you do it in good company – with perhaps hundreds or thousands of your closest friends.

   Across the land, many cities and towns, both large and small will celebrate an end to 2018 and welcome for 2019 with open-air concerts and street parties.

   New Year’s Eve bashes, family focused public celebrations, a cocktail cruise, dinners and a Brazilian carnival on Dec. 31 make Ontario sparkle.

Two fireworks displays light up the night sky in Niagara Falls to mark the arrival of 2019.

    One of the most happening places is the entire tourism district of Niagara Falls, billed as “Canada’s largest New Year’s Eve bash.”

   Crowds fill Queen Victoria Park overlooking the illuminated Horseshoe and American falls.

   The party kicks off at 8 p.m., attracting about 50,000 people, for the free outdoor event.

   It’s also one of the country’s longest-running celebrations that features entertainment and two explosive fireworks shows launched from the Niagara Gorge and Skylon Tower.

   There are two countdowns with fireworks – one for youngsters at 9 p.m. – and the other for the party hearty at the stroke of midnight.

   This year’s concert features an all-star Canadian line-up that opens at 8 p.m. with the Niagara Falls-based band Avenue Inn, winner of Band of the Year at the Niagara Music Awards.

   The Sheepdogs, a Saskatoon based-band, takes the stage at 9 p.m. while Walk off the Earth will perform its multi-platinum tunes starting at 10 p.m.

Burton Cummings

   Ringing in the New Year is legend Burton Cummings, one of Canada’s most-celebrated performers and former Guess Who frontman.

   The event will have variety of food and beverage options, as well as an outdoor licensed area, and numerous restaurants, hotels and two casinos are nearby.

   For more information, go to: niagaraparks.com/events/event/niagara-falls-new-years-eve; or call the Niagara Parks Commission at 1-877-642-7275.

   Happening elsewhere

   Here are some other New Year’s Eve events around the province worthy of a “one-tank trip.”

   - Toronto’s New Year’s Eve celebrations in Nathan Philips Square at City Hall knock it out of the park year after year with DJ skating parties, A-list live music and truly awesome fireworks.    www.toronto.ca

   - Start 2019 with a splash and the fishes at Toronto’s Ripley’s Aquarium on New Year’s Eve, for “kids” 19 and older. ripleyaquariums.com/canada/event/new-years-eve-2

Revellers are a hearty bunch outside Toronto city hall. (Jim Fox photo)

    - Celebrate with Mariposa Cruises on a New Year’s Eve Cocktail Cruise in Toronto harbour. There will be a “professional DJ and sound system to set the mood and get you dancing.” mariposacruises.com

   - Guelph lays on Sparkles in the Park in Riverside Park featuring lighting displays, carousal rides and fireworks. sparklesinthepark.ca

   - Ottawa’s First Night fireworks are the stuff of legend but what about the metaphorical chill of a full-night yoga session and meditation, including swag bags and heathy drinks. todocanada.ca/new-years-eve-ottawa

   - A New Year’s Eve Brazilian Carnival happens at The Venue in Peterborough to samba, eat and toast your way into 2019. thekawarthas.ca/events

   - Six historical churches in downtown Brockville, all within easy walking distance of one another, are the venues for free concerts. These feature choirs, bells, concert bands and local musicians. brockvilletourism.com

   - Fort William Historical Park is throwing its annual Family Frolic celebrations culminating with a big fireworks show. Fwhp.ca/festivals-events

   - If the revelries of the night before don’t keep you down, consider visiting an Ontario Provincial Park, for events such as the First Day Hike at Bronte Creek, Kakabeka Falls, the Pinery and MacGregor Point. ontarioparks.com/events

   For more information on events, check out the Ontario Tourism website: ontariotravel.net

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Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com

For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca