Latest news with #PolarExpress
Sydney Morning Herald
25-07-2025
- Sydney Morning Herald
Everyone should have a white Christmas once – this place has my vote
From Calgary, I board the Brewster Express shuttle (where's the crystal chariot when you need one?) for the 130-kilometre drive along the Trans-Canada Highway to the Fairmont Banff Springs, my luxury home for the next three nights. Rising above the snow-dusted forest like a fantasy castle, its turrets stand stark against the looming mountain backdrop. As enchanting as it is, this grand old dame is distinctly Canadian, a testament to the nation's rail history. Built in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), it was part of a strategy to boost tourism in the Rockies by creating luxury hotels in scenic spots along the rail line. 'Christmas at the Castle' begins on December 5, with an advent calendar of themed events including everything from campfire experiences to making toffee popsicles in the snow, bedtime stories with Mrs Claus to a private good night visit from Santa. Forget the Christmas card fantasy. This is a full-speed Polar Express into every storybook, Christmas movie and fairytale you've ever imagined, all wrapped in a bear hug only a Canadian can give. I enjoy maple cream cocktails beside a fire pit on a rooftop terrace, dine on prime rib Alberta beef in The Vermillion Room restaurant (the resort has 13 places to eat and drink) and soak in a thermal spa amid the snow. I could easily stay cocooned here forever, but an ice walk through Johnston Canyon – one of the signature attractions of Banff National Park – calls. It's minus 17 degrees. I have cleats strapped to my boots for grip and my new woollen thermal is making me itch like a bear in poison ivy. My progress is more awkward penguin shuffle than confident march. 'You need to show the cleats who's boss,' says our guide Neil Evans from Discover Banff Tours. We haven't even left the car park yet. We trek for an hour – past rock walls draped with icicles, over snowy bridges, and through a cave-like tunnel – to the 30-metre-tall Upper Falls, frozen in time like a winter masterpiece. At any moment, I half expect a raven to arrive with news of Winterfell. Back in Banff,the Christmas markets are filled with artisanal products and mulled wine, while the Hot Chocolate Trail leaves me buzzing from a sugar-rush. For this sweet-tooth, the winner is a toss between the toasted coconut hot chocolate served at Mountain Folk Coffee Co and the Bueno Smash at the Uprising Bake Shop. Across town, more than 30 restaurants and cafes are whipping up festive-themed hot chocolates. The highs continue that evening as I ascend Sulphur Mountain, the Banff Gondola whisking me to the summit to witness 'Nightrise', a dazzling multi-media show of lights, projections and soundscapes. Dinner at Sky Bistro is the icing on top, err, the mountain. It's under a cloud-free blue sky that I set off from Banff for the 50-minute drive to Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, the second palace-like railway hotel in the Rockies to be built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. I've arrived early, but a Christmas miracle means not only is my room ready, but I've been upgraded to a junior lake-view suite. There's even a Christmas tree in my room. There are so many Christmas trees – standing tall in the lobby, sprouting along stairwells, forming festive forests in the hallways – each one dressed to the nines and sparkling like a Swarovski crystal. I'm torn between spending time in my room, mesmerised by the view of frozen Lake Louise, hiding out in the hotel's antiquarian bookstore or enjoying live music in the ballroom. But it's the lure of high tea in the Fairview Restaurant, with its sweeping views of the saw-toothed Rockies, that wins me over. Afterwards, I burn off the house-made scones and devilled egg sandwiches with a hike across the frozen lake, the sharp air filling my lungs as I crunch across the ice. Next, it's time for a snow-shoeing tour with a mountain guide, where we explore the hidden trails in the snowy slopes above the lake. Later in the season, sections are cleared and groomed to create a rink for ice skating and hockey. Complete with an ice bar, it's about as cool as it gets. And then there's the annual Ice Magic festival (a five-day event in late January, complimentary for hotel guests) where blocks of ice are transformed into whimsical sculptures by professional ice carvers. It's almost impossible to reconcile this frozen expanse with the emerald blue lake I've seen on summer postcards. On the way back from my snow-shoeing tour, I stop to watch a group of small children throwing snowballs – all ruddy cheeks and swaying pompoms – and for a moment, I feel the pull of my own grandchildren back home. I guess it's never too early to start planning the next festive escape. THE DETAILS STAY Fairmont Banff Springs is a landmark hotel in the heart of the Banff National Park. A Fairmont Mountain View King room starts from $C829 ($916) during December. Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has 539 rooms and suites, with a Fairmont Mountain View King room starting from $C499 ($551) during December. The hotel is currently undergoing renovations, including a new lakeshore wellness centre due to open mid-September, 2025. See Loading TOUR Discover Banff Tours offers a four-hour Johnston Canyon ice walk, from $C99 an adult/$C62 a child ($109/68). See FLY Air Canada offers direct flights between Sydney and Brisbane to Vancouver with connections to Calgary. See
The Age
25-07-2025
- The Age
Everyone should have a white Christmas once – this place has my vote
From Calgary, I board the Brewster Express shuttle (where's the crystal chariot when you need one?) for the 130-kilometre drive along the Trans-Canada Highway to the Fairmont Banff Springs, my luxury home for the next three nights. Rising above the snow-dusted forest like a fantasy castle, its turrets stand stark against the looming mountain backdrop. As enchanting as it is, this grand old dame is distinctly Canadian, a testament to the nation's rail history. Built in 1888 by the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), it was part of a strategy to boost tourism in the Rockies by creating luxury hotels in scenic spots along the rail line. 'Christmas at the Castle' begins on December 5, with an advent calendar of themed events including everything from campfire experiences to making toffee popsicles in the snow, bedtime stories with Mrs Claus to a private good night visit from Santa. Forget the Christmas card fantasy. This is a full-speed Polar Express into every storybook, Christmas movie and fairytale you've ever imagined, all wrapped in a bear hug only a Canadian can give. I enjoy maple cream cocktails beside a fire pit on a rooftop terrace, dine on prime rib Alberta beef in The Vermillion Room restaurant (the resort has 13 places to eat and drink) and soak in a thermal spa amid the snow. I could easily stay cocooned here forever, but an ice walk through Johnston Canyon – one of the signature attractions of Banff National Park – calls. It's minus 17 degrees. I have cleats strapped to my boots for grip and my new woollen thermal is making me itch like a bear in poison ivy. My progress is more awkward penguin shuffle than confident march. 'You need to show the cleats who's boss,' says our guide Neil Evans from Discover Banff Tours. We haven't even left the car park yet. We trek for an hour – past rock walls draped with icicles, over snowy bridges, and through a cave-like tunnel – to the 30-metre-tall Upper Falls, frozen in time like a winter masterpiece. At any moment, I half expect a raven to arrive with news of Winterfell. Back in Banff,the Christmas markets are filled with artisanal products and mulled wine, while the Hot Chocolate Trail leaves me buzzing from a sugar-rush. For this sweet-tooth, the winner is a toss between the toasted coconut hot chocolate served at Mountain Folk Coffee Co and the Bueno Smash at the Uprising Bake Shop. Across town, more than 30 restaurants and cafes are whipping up festive-themed hot chocolates. The highs continue that evening as I ascend Sulphur Mountain, the Banff Gondola whisking me to the summit to witness 'Nightrise', a dazzling multi-media show of lights, projections and soundscapes. Dinner at Sky Bistro is the icing on top, err, the mountain. It's under a cloud-free blue sky that I set off from Banff for the 50-minute drive to Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, the second palace-like railway hotel in the Rockies to be built by the Canadian Pacific Railway. I've arrived early, but a Christmas miracle means not only is my room ready, but I've been upgraded to a junior lake-view suite. There's even a Christmas tree in my room. There are so many Christmas trees – standing tall in the lobby, sprouting along stairwells, forming festive forests in the hallways – each one dressed to the nines and sparkling like a Swarovski crystal. I'm torn between spending time in my room, mesmerised by the view of frozen Lake Louise, hiding out in the hotel's antiquarian bookstore or enjoying live music in the ballroom. But it's the lure of high tea in the Fairview Restaurant, with its sweeping views of the saw-toothed Rockies, that wins me over. Afterwards, I burn off the house-made scones and devilled egg sandwiches with a hike across the frozen lake, the sharp air filling my lungs as I crunch across the ice. Next, it's time for a snow-shoeing tour with a mountain guide, where we explore the hidden trails in the snowy slopes above the lake. Later in the season, sections are cleared and groomed to create a rink for ice skating and hockey. Complete with an ice bar, it's about as cool as it gets. And then there's the annual Ice Magic festival (a five-day event in late January, complimentary for hotel guests) where blocks of ice are transformed into whimsical sculptures by professional ice carvers. It's almost impossible to reconcile this frozen expanse with the emerald blue lake I've seen on summer postcards. On the way back from my snow-shoeing tour, I stop to watch a group of small children throwing snowballs – all ruddy cheeks and swaying pompoms – and for a moment, I feel the pull of my own grandchildren back home. I guess it's never too early to start planning the next festive escape. THE DETAILS STAY Fairmont Banff Springs is a landmark hotel in the heart of the Banff National Park. A Fairmont Mountain View King room starts from $C829 ($916) during December. Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise has 539 rooms and suites, with a Fairmont Mountain View King room starting from $C499 ($551) during December. The hotel is currently undergoing renovations, including a new lakeshore wellness centre due to open mid-September, 2025. See Loading TOUR Discover Banff Tours offers a four-hour Johnston Canyon ice walk, from $C99 an adult/$C62 a child ($109/68). See FLY Air Canada offers direct flights between Sydney and Brisbane to Vancouver with connections to Calgary. See
Winnipeg Free Press
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Thrill of the carnival ride comes down to physics: Calgary professor
EDMONTON – Gregg Korek knows a thing or two about roller-coasters. As vice-president of client services for North American Midway Entertainment, he has been part of bringing rides and attractions to one of Edmonton's signature summer events for nearly five decades. Korek said his company has brought back a lot of fan favourites for KDays, the decades-old exhibition that draws thousands yearly to Alberta's capital for rides, games, food and live music. There are familiar coasters, such as the Star Dancer and Crazy Mouse. For those who want something wet and wild, there's the Niagara Falls Flume. Others, such as the Polar Express, are geared towards fast-paced thrill-seekers. The best rides are the fast ones and the ones that go upside down and backwards, Korek said. 'When you're coming down the very first hill on that Crazy Mouse roller-coaster, you're alive,' he said Tuesday. 'The Wave Swinger, that's always been my favourite. It always reminds me of … those dreams that you have where you're flying.' That feeling of hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds is all about physics and your brain fooling you, says a Calgary physics professor. Dr. Phil Langill, an associate professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Calgary, is an avid thrill-seeker and has closely studied midway rides. Langill said it all comes down to gravitational force, or G-force, which measures the acceleration or deceleration relative to the Earth's gravitational pull. When you get on a ride, he said, it's designed in such a way that the seat you're in makes you feel heavy or light. That translates to a feeling of being smashed into your seat and feeling heavier, or of weightlessness, as if you're going to fall out, he said. 'The rides try to play with your psychological being,' Langill said. While many chase the thrill of the ride, carnival classics like the ferris wheel continue to be enjoyed by people like Chris Scheetz, who is on a quest to ride it for 54 hours straight to raise $54,000 for chronically ill children. A self-proclaimed lover of rides, Scheetz said he's done a bunch of 'wild and wacky' stunts dating back to his time as a radio host, such as when he drove a Zamboni from Calgary to Edmonton. When his family found out his plan to break the 53-hour record ferris wheel ride, 'they went, 'Oh, no. Not again,'' he said. Aside from five-minute bathroom breaks every hour, he hasn't stepped off the wheel, even sleeping on it at night. Scheetz said he's had no trouble passing the time, between rides with sponsors, celebrities and media interviews. He's also had children on as part of the Alberta Dreams charity. His ride is expected to end late Wednesday afternoon. KDays runs through Sunday. — With files from Bill Graveland in Calgary This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
23-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Thrill of the carnival ride comes down to physics: Calgary professor
EDMONTON - Gregg Korek knows a thing or two about roller-coasters. As vice-president of client services for North American Midway Entertainment, he has been part of bringing rides and attractions to one of Edmonton's signature summer events for nearly five decades. Korek said his company has brought back a lot of fan favourites for KDays, the decades-old exhibition that draws thousands yearly to Alberta's capital for rides, games, food and live music. There are familiar coasters, such as the Star Dancer and Crazy Mouse. For those who want something wet and wild, there's the Niagara Falls Flume. Others, such as the Polar Express, are geared towards fast-paced thrill-seekers. The best rides are the fast ones and the ones that go upside down and backwards, Korek said. 'When you're coming down the very first hill on that Crazy Mouse roller-coaster, you're alive,' he said Tuesday. 'The Wave Swinger, that's always been my favourite. It always reminds me of ... those dreams that you have where you're flying.' That feeling of hurtling through the air at breakneck speeds is all about physics and your brain fooling you, says a Calgary physics professor. Dr. Phil Langill, an associate professor in the department of physics and astronomy at the University of Calgary, is an avid thrill-seeker and has closely studied midway rides. Langill said it all comes down to gravitational force, or G-force, which measures the acceleration or deceleration relative to the Earth's gravitational pull. When you get on a ride, he said, it's designed in such a way that the seat you're in makes you feel heavy or light. That translates to a feeling of being smashed into your seat and feeling heavier, or of weightlessness, as if you're going to fall out, he said. 'The rides try to play with your psychological being,' Langill said. While many chase the thrill of the ride, carnival classics like the ferris wheel continue to be enjoyed by people like Chris Scheetz, who is on a quest to ride it for 54 hours straight to raise $54,000 for chronically ill children. A self-proclaimed lover of rides, Scheetz said he's done a bunch of 'wild and wacky' stunts dating back to his time as a radio host, such as when he drove a Zamboni from Calgary to Edmonton. When his family found out his plan to break the 53-hour record ferris wheel ride, 'they went, 'Oh, no. Not again,'' he said. Aside from five-minute bathroom breaks every hour, he hasn't stepped off the wheel, even sleeping on it at night. Scheetz said he's had no trouble passing the time, between rides with sponsors, celebrities and media interviews. He's also had children on as part of the Alberta Dreams charity. His ride is expected to end late Wednesday afternoon. KDays runs through Sunday. — With files from Bill Graveland in Calgary This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 22, 2025.
Indianapolis Star
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
Danville's Royal Theater offers cheap, unique, family-friendly movie viewing experience
Bill Wright can tell you the exact seats he sat in next to his two daughters, Emmie, 6, and Danielle, 3, as they watched Polar Express inside Royal Theater back in 2004. The Danville resident and former police chief remembers the day being bitterly cold and snowing, but the memories he retains from that moment in time warm his heart to this day. That's why in 2017 when the theater came up for sale, Wright purchased the building and theater from a friend and local businessman who trusted him to preserve its nearly 100-year-old history. 'I went home and said, 'Honey, guess what I did,'' Wright remembers telling his wife, Sharon. 'She said, 'You did what?'' For a while, a management company would run the day-to-day operations of the theater, but then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and the Wrights saw an opportunity to close down and renovate. Though the theater was established in 1914, it found its home at its current location on Danville's town square in 1927. For nearly a year, the two worked to bring the theater back to its original prestige. By comparing old photos, Wright says they were able to pick out the same paint colors and similar carpet. Through the renovation process, many old relics were found in the walls and attic. Now some sit on display as you walk in the front doors under the building's marquee lit with red, blue and gold bulbs. Old movie tickets, posters and even an old projector weighing a ton greet visitors. The theater contains one screen and 220 seats. Ticket prices are $5, and concessions are fairly priced. All in an effort to keep the theater attainable and family-focused.
