Calgary New Year’s Eve fireworks to go ahead, but city encourages at home celebrations to ring in 2022

CALGARY -

The City of Calgary will move forward with its New Year’s Eve fireworks show, but Calgarians are encouraged to enjoy festivities from the comfort of their own home.

“It is of paramount importance that Calgarians stay safe in the face of rising Omicron variant cases,” said Jennifer Storm, communication planner with the City of Calgary.

“We are reminding anyone who does go to one of the many other outdoor locations where you have a view of the Calgary Tower, please make sure you’re wearing a mask and staying six feet apart.”

Fireworks will shoot off from the Calgary Tower at midnight, although the show can also be viewed via a livestream by tuning in at 11:55 p.m. on calgary.ca/NYE.

The show will be set to a musical soundtrack curated by CJSW 90.9FM and include a blessing from Siksika Elder Clarence Wolfleg, with an official countdown to midnight by Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

“It is important for our city to feel connected even though we can’t be together in person,” Storm added.

“What better way to do that than livestreaming fireworks set to a soundtrack of Canadian artists!”

In addition to the livestream fireworks show, the city is also encouraging Calgarians to enjoy other fun outdoor activities to celebrate the end of 2021.

Calgarians are encouraged to enjoy winter skating, tobogganing or outdoor fire pits, and consider supporting local restaurants by ordering meals from them with family and friends.

Calgary is carrying on with its New Year’s plans, but several parties have been cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions preventing more than 500 or 1,000 people from attending certain venues.

Meanwhile, other Alberta towns such as Banff have already cancelled New Year’s Eve celebrations amidst rising cases of the Omicron variant and frigid winter conditions.

CANCELLED PARTIES NEGATIVELY IMPACTING HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

The Christmas and New Year’s season is described by members of the hospitality industry as ‘make or break.’

Executive Director of the Calgary Hotel Association Sol Zia said the cancellation of New Year’s Eve parties, the Mac’s Tournament, and various Calgary Flames games have hit the industry hard.

“I know from our partners in tourism that the overall impact to the city was over $4 million so with the changes to New Year’s Eve and smaller events, it’s a multi-million dollar impact,” he said.

“It’s gong to be a quiet first quarter so that’s why it’s important for our hotels that the government of Alberta announced the abatement of the Alberta Tourism Levy and for hotels to be able to keep that money through March 31.”

Alberta Hospitality Association president Ernie Tsu added that restaurants are losing out on incredible amounts of revenue because of COVID restrictions and the 11 p.m. stoppage of liquor sales.

“This was supposed to be a chance to recoup a lot of the lost sales from the last two years and it's a chance to serve our public that want to get out and be sociable,” Tsu said.

“This is where restaurants are really going to be suffering with these restrictions, but it's good to see a lot of them still push forward with a safe New Year. It's going to look different, but we're still seeing a lot of old patrons still be able to push forward with their New Year's plans.”

SCALED BACK EVENTS

Some New Year’s Eve family events are continuing to go ahead with capacity limits and distancing restrictions in place to mitigate any COVID-19 safety concerns.

The Telus Spark Big Bang event from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. features a large balloon play zone for children and families, along with noisemaker stations, and science shows.

Production specialist Ellyn Schlegel said distancing and masking will be in place along with timed entry and the restrictions exemption program requiring proof of vaccination for all ticketholders.

“We’ve had to make some modifications, including the removal of our bubble wrap dance floor, it’s something our guests know and love from previous New Year’s events but obviously distancing is very important,” Schlegel said.

“Of course, we also have lots of hand sanitizer available and staff on site just reminding people about the capacity limits.”

Meanwhile, the Calgary Zoo will also still be holding its Zoo Year’s Eve with a self-imposed restriction on the number of visitors and tickets sold.

The zoo will be operating at 50 per cent capacity, which means the park will have plenty of space for Calgarians to enjoy holiday light displays.

Other restaurants and bars however will still be holding New Year’s events, including Home & Away and Chakalaka, both of which are continuing to advertise DJ shows.