NIAGARA FALLS, NY – Moments after his wife Erendira dangled from a helicopter as part of a stunt over the world famous cataracts, and five years after her husband walked a tight rope over the Falls, Nik Wallenda said he still hasn’t given up on his dream for his family to become more of a permanent fixture in Niagara Falls.
“The dream would be to have a theater here, basically, where we could perform throughout the summer for all the tourists that continue to cross to the other (Canadian) side. Maybe they will have a reason to stay over here to enjoy the Falls,” Wallenda said.
However, that concept has been talked about ever since Wallenda’s televised tight rope walk, and half a decade later it remains -- at least publicly – nothing more than conceptual.
“I have talked about it with Nik in private conversations twice now, and I do believe they have something at least in their heads that they would like to come to fruition,” said Niagara Falls City Councilman Kenny Tompkins.
Tompkins, though, concedes he’s yet to learn of any formal proposal, architects rendering, site plans, cost estimates, or even studies associated with the project.
“I have not seen anything like that and honestly don’t know if they even exist at this point,” Tompkins said.
Tomkins says he would do all he could to support such a project.
“Sometimes it takes a little longer in this region to make things happen,” said Wallenda, who encountered resistance from some corners of city government to his initial, and successful stunt over the Falls in 2012.
“But this is about the attention of the world to this region and we’ve proven that twice now,” he said.
Big ideas for Niagara Falls are as common as water falling over them, and many concepts over the years have evaporated like the mist above the Falls.
“Being that the Wallenda family is behind it, and believing how much they seem to enjoy our area, I think this one has a very good chance of working,” said Tomkins.
“This is our goal and my family, through seven generations over 200 years has lived by three words,” said Wallenda. “Never give up. And I’m not about to give up on this.”
