Canal Days showcases marine heritage
The annual Canal Days Marine Heritage Festival is a homecoming of sorts, says Port Colborne Mayor John Maloney.
“It’s good weekend fun for people from Port Colborne, and former residents will plan to come back and visit around it,” Maloney says, adding visitors come to the annual event from across Niagara and beyond as well.
The 39th annual festival runs Friday to Monday at Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum, the complete length of West Street, Clarence Street and many other locations across the city.
“There really is a little bit of everything for everyone to enjoy on a nice summer weekend. It’s a beautiful venue at this end of the Welland Canal,” Maloney says of the festival.
One of his favourite events — added three years ago and hosted by Main Street BIA — is the annual World Championship Sawhorse Race at Lock 8 Gateway Park at 11 a.m.
With the festival being about the city’s marine heritage, the mayor says visitors, and residents alike, can take a trip out to the breakwall and tour the Port Colborne Lighthouse.
“Most of us just see the lighthouse from shore, this is a great opportunity to go see it up close.”
The lighthouse tours, launched at Sugarloaf Harbour Marina, run 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday through Monday and are put on by the Friends of the Lighthouse group.
The mayor says the museum, the place where Canal Days all started, is also a must-visit during the festival with its displays and exhibits showing the nautical history of the city.
The Sunday night fireworks show draws tens of thousands of people to West Street, and anywhere there’s a good view, to watch as the fireworks burst high over the Welland Canal. Michelle Cuthbert, the city’s marketing, customer relations and communications co-ordinator, says the show is weather dependent. And unlike almost every other fireworks show, it’s also dependent on marine traffic in the canal. If there’s a ship upbound or downbound at the time, the show will be delayed until it clears the area.
The boat parade of lights leads up to the fireworks show, with the E.M Cotter fireboat from Buffalo heading up a group of boats from the canal entrance down to Bridge 21 and back.
But before the fireworks show and boat parade of lights take place, Canal Days kicks off on Friday as Empire Sandy makes its way down the canal and docks on West Street.
Cuthbert says the tall ship will offer a Friday night evening tour out on to the lake, followed by morning, afternoon cruises on Saturday and Sunday, and a Saturday dinner cruise and Sunday fireworks dinner cruise.
“The U.S. brig Niagara will be here and offering deck tours,” says Cuthbert, adding the War of 1812 replica of the relief flagship of U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry will be taking donations.
She says the E.M. Cotter fireboat, out of Buffalo, N.Y., will enter the canal and dock on Saturday, with tours on board throughout both Saturday and Sunday.
Cuthbert says after taking in the various vessels, visitors can check out the entertainment on the Scotiabank Patio on West Street, between Victoria and Adelaide Streets.
“Concerts run from noon to 10 p.m. on Saturday, noon to 11 p.m. on Sunday, and from noon to 4 p.m. on Monday,” she says.
The Headstones are the headliners for Friday night’s concert; Big Sugar is the featured attraction Saturday night. Both shows are free
A variety of vendors — food, merchants and artisans — will line West Street from Princess Street down to Sugarloaf Street.
Cuthbert says there’s so much to do across the city during Canal Days, such as visiting the Vale Kids Zone at Seaway Park, on the east side of Bridge 21; the Vale Centre craft show; a kite show at H.H. Knoll Lakeview Park Saturday; the 25th annual Canal Days NAPA Classic Car Show at the park Sunday; jazz at Roselawn Centre; the museum; and much more.
“There’s a lot of free family fun. There is something for everyone in the family.”
A full list of events can be found at: canaldays.ca/page/canal_days_ program.