Banff welcomed New Year with full on celebrations
Posted Jan 1, 2023 11:59 am.
Last Updated Jan 1, 2023 12:37 pm.
Banff welcomed the new year Saturday night at Central Park for the first time since 2019.
The celebrations included free live music, winter activities, Indigenous performances, and a fireworks display at midnight.
The family-friendly event started at 6 p.m. and lasted till midnight, where people were invited to bundle up and enjoy a mini train for toddlers and opportunities to race kicksleds.
The two outdoor rinks in town – the Train Station and The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre – offered a great way to spend the evening.
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Banff welcomed 2023 with a “pyrotechnics display,” which is a short display with low-altitude and low-noise “designed to minimize impact on wildlife and pets at home.”
The “pyrotechnics display” was conducted with close monitoring and permission from Parks Canada, as it’s normally a restricted activity in the town.
Meanwhile, the town also passed a new bylaw that bans smoking and vaping in most public places, including sidewalks and parks.
The new rule includes a $250 fine for those who break it. However, the town says education will be their first priority.
Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health, says this ban will lower the likelihood of children becoming smokers.
“The social modelling of smoking and vaping can have a profound impact on children and youth … The more smoking cues that a child receives, more likely they are to become smokers themselves,” said Hagen.
The bylaw, which goes into effect Feb. 1, allows smoking tobacco for traditional Indigenous practices, or in a surface parking lot.
— With files from Dan Carson.
