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
Trump fined US$1,000 for gag order violation in hush money case as judge warns of possible jail time
The judge presiding over Donald Trump's hush money trial has fined him US$1,000 for violating his gag order and sternly warned the former president that additional violation could result in jail time.
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
When grief and AI collide: These people are communicating with the dead
AI tools can offer recommendations, answer questions and 'talk' with users. But some users are using them to recreate the likeness of the dead.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
WestJet, mechanics union agree to tentative deal to avoid strike
A potential strike between WestJet and its mechanics union appears to have been avoided.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.