Orillia, Ont. rings in the New Year with a balloon drop fail

The City of Orillia is finding itself in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons this holiday season after a dismal Christmas tree lighting and now a New Year's Eve fumbled balloon drop.

As hundreds of residents counted down to 2024 on Sunday night at the Orillia Recreation Centre, the hope was to celebrate with 2,000 colourful balloons dropping from the ceiling at the stroke of midnight.

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However, the much-anticipated moment took an unexpected turn when the balloons failed to rain down on the crowd, and instead, the large bags holding them came down on those below.

Residents made the best of the situation, opening the bags that trapped the biodegradable balloons and grabbing them to toss around the crowd.

The balloon drop for New Year's Eve was a bust at the Orillia Recreation Centre on Sun., Dec. 31, 2023. (Courtesy: Connor Earl Productions/Connor Earl Photography)

Still, the event wasn't a complete flop, as residents partook in face painting, crafts, games, open swimming, bouncy castles and more, with many saying it was a New Year's they won't soon forget it.

The New Year's Eve misfortune came on the heels of another holiday hiccup when the Sunshine City's decades-old traditional Christmas Tree Lighting became the topic of widespread ridicule, even catching the attention of late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon, who poked fun at the event.

As hundreds of residents gathered around the tree and counted down to its lighting on Christmas Eve, silence filled the air after the lights came on and only the tree's trunk was decorated.

While the lacklustre tree 'trunk' lighting outside the city's opera house left many uninspired, organizers said decorating the tree trunk alone was indeed the plan, adding the aging tree's branches weren't sturdy enough to hold Christmas lights.