Thousands came out to ring in the New Year as the annual Orillia New Year’s Eve Bash family event took place Sunday night.
“We came from Midland with the kids to enjoy the party and I think it went great,” said Ken MacDonald.
The family event is a party for all ages to end the current year and ring in the new year and has been running and growing ever since the inaugural party in 2011, organizers say. This was the second straight year the party was held at the Orillia Recreation Centre on West Street.
The spacious facility allowed the party to grow, with a notable increase in activities this year.
“Our staff are thrilled to bring the fun and excitement to all families on this New Year’s Eve,” said Erica Veldman, the city's recreation program supervisor.
The event featured many party favourites such as inflatables, table tennis, face painting, a popcorn and cotton candy station, a photo-op station and much more.
There was also a free open swim in the pool for anyone who wanted to take one last swim in 2023.
Over the course of the night, all in attendance seemed to enjoy the free party that was capped with a much-anticipated balloon drop.
A whopping 2,000 biodegradable balloons were meant to drop from three large bags attached to the roof, allowing them to trickle their way down to the crowd, but it did not go as designed.
The planned balloon drop quickly became more like a lowering to the ground to let every person grab a balloon out of the three large cases after multiple attempts to open them failed as everyone in the crowd just watched and waited.
The three bags were eventually lowered to the ground where more attempts were made to open them.
After nearly four minutes of struggling, kids just began grabbing the balloons and the remaining balloons in the bags that the kids weren’t able to get, were finally released and trickled out on the floor.
While many said the party went great, some were disappointed by the failed big finale and compared it to the Orillia Christmas tree lighting fiasco.
“It would be a miracle if we don’t end up on the Jimmy Fallon show for ‘the worst New Year’s balloon drop,’” said one parent, a sentiment that was quickly echoed by many other parents and attendees.
Fallon panned Orillia's failed tree lighting on his hit U.S. show in the days after the disappointing event in downtown Orillia was captured on a video that went viral.
When asked, event officials couldn’t comment on why the balloon drop failed, stressing the event went off without a hitch, adding everyone had fun.
Organizers estimated about 2,500 people attended the party and that they are looking forward to hosting it again next year.
A reminder for those who attended the bash or will be heading out to any New Year’s Eve parties tonight that free transit will be available in Orillia on New Year’s Eve from 4:45 p.m. to 1:45 a.m. courtesy of Orillia Tim Hortons.
Happy New Year!
