Barrie businesses gear up to ring in the new year
The skating rink outside Barrie city hall was busy on Thursday as people prepared for New Year's Eve.
"We were supposed to go the Barrie Colts hockey game for New Year's Eve, but it got postponed, other than we're just going to have dinner at home," says Cory Stewart, who was skating on the ice with his family.
Thursday morning, City crews started assembling fencing around the rink in anticipation of Friday's New Year's celebration. The City of Barrie confirmed on Thursday that a scaled-down event will continue despite the rise in COVID numbers.
The city says there will be skating, a DJ and fireworks over Kempenfelt Bay at 9 p.m. This year, Barrie also has events at other locations.
"We are hosting registered events at East Bayfield Community Centre and Holly Community Centre by the hour," says Steve Lee Young with the City of Barrie. Those interested can pre-register or enroll online.
New capacity limits and restrictions have forced many bars and restaurants to make some last-minute changes to what is typically the busiest night of the year.
The Crazy Fox Bistro, for example will be open for dinner but only until 10 p.m., and everyone must be out by 11 p.m.
"We're at 50 per cent capacity, so we're trying to push the takeouts especially early between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and then try and be full at 50 per cent capacity after that," says David Ronald, owner of The Crazy Fox Bistro.
Chris Gerard, owner of the Queens Sports Bar and Nightclub, spent the day blowing up balloons for his scaled-down celebration. He will have table seating, with music but no dancing. "We're going to try and pull off a New Year's party, so we will treat 10 p.m. like midnight. We've changed all our clocks ahead, so we'll have a fake count down," Gerard says.
With many preparing for a night in, restaurants are getting ready for what could be a record-breaking night.
Chef Chan restaurant in Barrie started taking take-out orders for New Year's as early as Monday. The owners anticipate they could serve as many as 1000 take-out orders Friday night.
Owner Suling Liu says, "It's super busy, super crazy. We are fully booked for 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. We are only available after 7 p.m. and before 4 p.m. so you see how busy? Crazy busy."
Lou says it will be all hands on deck with all of her staff to handle the busy night.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Quebec judge orders bus driver to stand trial for 2023 daycare crash deaths
A judge has ordered a Quebec man to stand trial on charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of two children killed when a bus rammed into a Montreal-area daycare last year.
Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Where is the worst place for allergy sufferers in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Do these exercises for core strength if you can't stomach doing planks
Planks are one of the most effective exercises for strengthening your midsection, as they target all of your major core muscles: the transverse abdominis, rectus abdominis, external obliques and internal obliques. Yet despite the popularity of various 10-minute plank challenges, planking is actually one of the most dreaded core exercises, according to many fitness experts.