It’s not quite the War of 1812 but on Saturday, there will be a U.S.-Canada confrontation in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge. But leaders say it’s for a good cause. Against the backdrop of strained U.S.-Canada relations centered on trade, the mayors of Niagara Falls, N.Y. and Niagara Falls, Ontario are staging a “friendly” game of tug-of-war to symbolize the two cities are urban brothers and united. That message is important, especially these days, according to Niagara Falls, N.Y. Mayor Rob Restaino.
“We've been saying it right from the outset. These two communities are almost one, simply separated by the river,” Restaino said. “You’ve got family and friends on both sides. There's a lot of commonalities.”
Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati and a team of Niagara Regional Police officers will face off against Restaino and a team of their police and firefighters. Bragging rights are a stake, and possibly beer and chicken wings. But Diodati says the real prize is unity.
“We love having Americans,” Diodati said. “We always roll out the red carpet for American friends and family, because, far as we're concerned, your friends or your family, and you fall into one of the two categories, and it's interchangeable.”
The tug-of-war is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on May 10 in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge by the U.S. and Canadian flagpoles.
