Latest news with #NiagaraFallsTourism
Hamilton Spectator
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Hellboy' star Ron Perlman wants fireworks to stop in Niagara Falls
'Sons of Anarchy' and 'Hellboy' star Ron Perlman has a message for Niagara Falls: Knock it off with the fireworks. In a new YouTube video released this week for PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the actor chastised Niagara Falls Tourism (NFT) for its nightly fireworks shows over the falls during summer, saying they terrorize the local wildlife. 'Fireworks every night? Seriously?,' he said in the 30-second clip. 'Months of trauma for animals? Come on Niagara Falls, you can do better.' NFT has been blasted by PETA in recent years for its nightly fireworks displays. Last summer the group sent NFT board members ear plugs to remind them that people can block out the sound of fireworks, but animals can't. Earlier this year, PETA sent the board members and NFT president Janice Thomson a pair of drones and a laser light projector with the message, 'You can wow, without the pow.' After a two-year pandemic hiatus, summer fireworks shows returned to Niagara Falls in 2022 and immediately angered several pet owners throughout the city, who said the nightly cascade of noise frightened and stressed out their animals. The fireworks shows have returned this year, running 151 consecutive nights until Oct. 13. 'Imagine dogs, cats, birds, deer and other animals panicking every single night for months,' Perlman said in his video. 'The falls are already a wonder. You don't need gimmicks like fireworks to bring people in. Please do better.' Last summer, NFT and the Niagara Parks Commission said they were considering drone shows as an additional feature, but stressed that tourists still love the fireworks shows every night. Perlman is pushing for a complete shift to drone shows. 'Switch to drones,' he urged in the video. 'Give animals and everyone else a break.' PETA says more than 90,000 people have joined its crusade against the Niagara Falls fireworks shows. Not only can the noise cause animals to flee yards and homes in panic, they say pollutants are left in the air and water. When contacted Tuesday, Thomson said feedback shows fireworks are popular with visitors. 'Niagara Falls Tourism continues to receive a strong show of consumer interest in the fireworks programming, along with the custom light displays by the (Niagara Falls) Illumination Board,' she said. 'Displays that reflect and pay tribute to the beauty of nature. 'Laser shows are being considered to highlight this year's Winter Festival of Lights, responding to visitor interest in new and innovative programming.'
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Yahoo
Image of red Niagara Falls is fake
"SHOCKING SCENE: Niagara Falls Turns Blood Red for 10 Minutes, Stuns Visitors," claims the caption of a June 22, 2025 Facebook photo. The description of the page which shared the image indicates it traffics in content generated by artificial intelligence and the post received more than 24,000 likes. The picture of a red Niagara Falls spread in additional widely viewed Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X posts. The caption of many of the Facebook posts imitates the style of a copy-pasted news report -- a strategy adopted by many after Meta blocked the sharing of news links for Canadians on its platforms (archived here). However, many of the elements in the text appear to be completely contrived. For example, the caption references a hydrologist, "Dr. Rebecca Thompson," but keyword searches do not reveal anyone with that name practicing that profession. Beyond the social media posts, AFP could not find versions of the text in credible news sources. Furthermore, Niagara Falls Tourism told AFP the image was "completely false" and commented that it was likely generated by artificial intelligence. "The Falls don't change to those colors," said a spokesman for the tourism board in a July 2 email. "It will sometimes be brown when we experience heavy rains, but not red." Archived images of Niagara Falls from June 22 shared by the photography network EarthCam do not include any pictures of the waters at the site turning red as seen in the misleading social media posts (archived here). While some commenters on the posts appeared to believe the image was real, many users claiming to live nearby wrote that the waters did not change color. Light shows are a regular feature at Niagara Falls but the official schedule says they are only turned on at night, while the false posts claimed the image was captured in the early morning. The red from the lights do not match the appearance of the social media image where the full river supposedly turned red (archived here). AFP previously fact-checked images of Canadian tourist attractions in seemingly extraordinary circumstances, including Niagara Falls. Read more of AFP's reporting of misinformation in Canada here.
