Morrisburg, Ontario – Upper Canada Village’s winter lights festival Alight at Night has reported record breaking attendance touching 40,000 visitors over just 22 nights of operation in its 14^th season.

“It really is quite remarkable for us to have set a record high for attendance in one evening (4,300 on Dec. 13) and for the whole event in our 14^th year of operation. This year everything worked to our advantage; we had a great family experience with exciting new elements such as the addition of our new Ferris wheel at no cost to our guests, combined with some of the best December weather – it was a win-win for everyone.” said Geoff Waycik, Manager of Upper Canada Village.

The St. Lawrence Parks Commission continues to set the standard in Eastern Ontario for delivering high quality events that customers want to buy, with longevity through consistent re-investment, expansion and a healthy dose of imagination to keep the visitor experience fresh and dynamic.

The Alight at Night event saw the addition of two new experiences that were well received by visitors to the event. A completely reinvigorated experience at Crysler Hall which was positioned as Saint Nick’s Merry Mansion complete with a new Sound & Light show and a magnificent Santa Claus visit experience inside along with a new 50 foot high Ferris wheel in the Village fairgrounds allowing families to see the ‘lights from a height’ as never before.

“Our teams are very focused on connecting our communities with our customers who arrive from all over the world. We really enjoy hearing feedback from people who have visited and I believe we often get some of our best ideas for improvement from our customers. This year we will introduce new ‘Come Push our Buttons’ survey kiosks at our attractions to solicit an instant sense of guest satisfaction on how our guests enjoyed their experiences. It is just another way we stay connected with our guests, constantly tweaking our products and experiences with the goal of offering complete guest satisfaction,” said Darren Dalgleish, General Manager & CEO, St. Lawrence Parks Commission.

The SLPC continues to edge towards extending the tourism seasons in our attraction regions, developing and reinvesting in events like Pumpkinferno and Alight at Night at Upper Canada Village along with Fort Fright and a potential new December holiday event at Fort Henry in Kingston.

In addition, the heritage attractions are playing on their natural attributes and appeal as host sites for sporting events. Upper Canada Village will get into the sporting spirit as a first time host venue for a Dion Snowshoe Race ‘Ignite the Night’ on January 10 with 5 km and 10 km races.

To sign up for the winter race events hosted at Upper Canada Village, visit www.UpperCanadaVillage.com and link through to the event websites.