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Nik Wallenda to become first person to walk tightrope over Niagara Falls
In a stunning about-face, the Niagara Parks Commission now says it will allow seventh-generation daredevil Nik Wallenda to be the first person to walk a tightrope wire across the Horseshoe Falls this summer.
The commission had initially blocked the 32-year-old’s bid, citing a 128-year-old act that prohibits “stunting” in a municipality that counts people hurling themselves over the falls in a barrel as part of its lore. But the parks commission made an exception to the rule and reversed its decision, saying the economic benefits of the Wallenda event will far outweigh any other concerns.
“I feel like I’m extremely blessed,” he told the National Post by phone after the meeting. “There was a lump in my throat until about 11:30 this morning,” when the new decision came down.
The Niagara Parks Commission was the only thing standing in the way of what will become a high point of Mr. Wallenda’s career as a daredevil and scion of the ‘Flying Wallenda’ family of high-wire walkers.
Maid of the Mist in peril: Bidding war over Niagara Falls’ tour service raises concerns over what will become of the iconic name
It began with a bridge in 1848, an infrastructure improvement that threatened to kill off the two-year-old ferry service across the Niagara River. The construction of a suspension bridge spanning the river nearly choked out the newly minted Maid of the Mist ferry service, but ownership soon saw a new opportunity — that of a sightseeing vessel, and created a local icon in the process.
The Maid of the Mist has shuttled Marilyn Monroe to the foot of Horseshoe Falls for her role in the film Niagara, borne Prince Charles, the late Princess Diana and their sons, William and Harry, as well as former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, among others.
But the Maid is in peril again, as the Niagara Parks Commission has forced the Glynn family, which has operated the boat tours on the Canadian side of the falls for more than a century, into a bidding war against other would-be operators. Prompted by scandal, the commission aims for the first time to bring the service into line with other Ontario Parks projects. (Photo: Janne Wooddridge/Miami Herald)
