A special walking tour set for Sunday morning, December 19 will follow in the footsteps of British soldiers who captured Fort Niagara exactly 197 years ago. The tour will be led by a uniformed War of 1812 soldier who will walk participants through the daring night attack that delivered Fort Niagara from U.S. into British hands. The soldier will also give tour participants a first-hand look at Fort Niagara's American garrison, including uniforms and equipment of U.S. War of 1812 soldiers.

The tour begins at 7:00 am, just hours after the actual assault captured the Fort on the morning of December 19, 1813. Following the tour, participants will be served breakfast at the Fort Niagara Officers Club. Attendance is limited to the first twenty people who register. Cost is $18.13 per person and must be paid in advance by calling (716) 745-7611.

For more information, consult Old Fort Niagara's website at www.oldfortniagara.org.

The Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurant in Niagara Falls, NY is currently selling tickets for its “Breakfast with Santa” fundraiser, scheduled for Saturday, December 11 from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Each ticket is $5 and includes pancakes, bacon, coffee and juice. Santa Claus will be on hand at area Applebee’s joining the festivities and 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the local Make-A-Wish Foundation chapter. 

Tickets for “Breakfast with Santa” are now available at any of the Applebee’s locations across Western New York including the Niagara Falls restaurant, located at 1608 Military Road, Niagara Falls, NY 14304. Last year, Applebee’s restaurants across New York State and Connecticut raised nearly $38,000 through its “Breakfast with Santa” event.

‘Holiday Battle on the Block’, an HGTV show featuring six Niagara families, will air its first episode featuring Niagara Falls’ DeVeaux neighborhood on Dec. 10 at 8 p.m. and an episode featuring Youngstown will air Dec. 17 at 8 p.m..

The cable network was in town for two weeks in Dec. 2009 to film the families as they were put to the challenge in a festive holiday decorating face-off.  During the show, each family was given a healthy budget to design, shop and build something special within 48 hours as they competed for “Best Holiday House” and neighborhood bragging rights. The winners were decided by a panel of local judges.

Both shows will re-air on Dec. 24 at noon and 12:30 p.m.. “Holiday Battle on the Block” is a Cineflix (Holiday Battle) Inc production in association with Scripps Networks LLC (HGTV USA).