THUNDER BAY – Thunder Bay’s Waterfront district received some holiday cheer this weekend with the return of the downtown Port Arthur horse-drawn carriage rides.
Residents braved the cold wind to take a ride on a horse drawn carriage Saturday afternoon and enjoyed meeting some other farm animals soon after.
The 15-minute ride started outside the Lakehead Beer Company and made its way around the block traveling up Park Ave, turning right onto Court Street heading down Red River Road and finally going back onto Cumberland.
Up to 12 people can ride at a time and the carriage gives residents the chance to enjoy the sights of downtown Port Arthur and meet Dell Farms, hardworking horses Bella and Clover.
Waterfront District BIA executive director, Kara Pratt, says they want to make the waterfront district a great place to experience the holiday season.
“Our idea is to bring people downtown and shop at the local shops, enjoy the local restaurants,” she said. “And while you're down here, you can enjoy some of the magic of Christmas, and winter, which we have a lot of here still.”
Dell Farms has brought their horses to the waterfront for a number of years, and Kyle Lansdell says he enjoys being able to bring the country into the city.
Everyone seems to enjoy it, they see the horses and they got their cell phones out, taking pictures and so we thought we'd come out here again and we brought the animals with us this time,” he said.
“A lot of times people had mentioned that they've never seen a horse before, and so it's a good chance to bring the country into the city.”
Unfortunately, the petting zoo won't be stationed on site for next Saturday, but Pratt says there will be other fun sites to see in the following weeks.
“Next weekend we have the Grinch, which is another animal of his own for both Saturday and Sunday, and the horse and carriage will be here on Saturday, and we have Sunday with Santa at Red Lion next door,” she said.
“And the 17th Santa will be returning for some photography or some photographs with the kids and adults alike and we'll also have the horse and carriage down here again.”
Horse drawn carriage rides are free, but they will be accepting donations for various charities in the city.
Rides will be available on December 10th and 17th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m..
