New Year's Eve celebration preparations underway in Barrie
Preparations are underway downtown Barrie as the city gets ready for its big New Year's Eve celebration.
The City of Barrie will ring in 2024 with its annual New Year's Eve Downtown Countdown, including several performances, vendors, activities, and fireworks displays.
"As you can see, we're building the stage just behind me here, and we're getting excited for a really big party," said Ashley Chappell, City of Barrie.
The festivities will kick off beginning at 6 p.m.
"We kick off the evening with our children's downtown countdown, which is really cute. We have Sunshine and Broccoli coming to do a big performance for us, and then we do a full countdown and fireworks for the kids at 8 p.m.," Chappell said. "Shortly after that, we start off with some of the adult fun where we have Bleeker coming, we have a local band coming called the Faculty, and then we've got our big headliner, which is Big Wreck, and they'll be hitting the stage before midnight and then a full countdown and fireworks," said Chappell.
There are road closures downtown that will be in place during the festivities, although officials with the city say free transit will be available.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local news updates sent to your inbox
"It's a little bit more difficult to come downtown only because we did close down Collier Street because that's where we've got the stage being built, and it does fill up quickly down there, but it is easy to get downtown; I know Barrie Transit which is one of our partners have extended their transit service all the way through until three am and after five pm it's free. So, everyone can get home safely from the event as well."
Local stores in the city are also feeling New Year's Eve rush.
For 35 years now, The Party Store, which is a family-owned business, has been a staple for all big events and celebrations.
The owner, Brian Tracey, said New Year's Eve is the second busiest time of the year.
"Christmas, everyone's busy, everyone's shopping, at all the malls, and it's a real hustle to get everything done and then once that's over, they then relax and go 'oh my god, New Year's' so we do see a huge rush of people down to the last few days," he said.
Tracey added that some items get swept off the shelves sooner than others.
"Ballons really are the key item; if you're going to go to an event, you're going to expect some type of a horn or noise maker, some type of a hat, but it's really the balloons that make the party," Tracey said.
The Party Store is expecting one big last rush on Sunday morning.
As for the City of Barrie, officials anticipate roughly 10,000 people in attendance.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.