The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
GlassBarge comes to Rome, Beach
The Corning Museum of Glass will bring its GlassBarge to Rome and Sylvan Beach for the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
The GlassBarge will dock at Bellamy Harbor Park in Rome on Thursday, July 5, then at the Dockwall in Sylvan Beach on Saturday and Sunday, July 7-8. The barge will hold free glassblowing demonstrations at both locations from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. All demos are approximately 30 minutes long and will only be cancelled in the event of thunderstorms and
severe weather.
GlassBarge commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company—now known as Corning Incorporated— relocating to Corning via the New York Waterways by canal barge. In celebration of this pivotal journey, CMoG is recreating the voyage with GlassBarge— a 30-by-80 foot canal barge equipped with CMoG’s patented all- electric glassmaking equipment. In addition to sharing the story of glassmaking in Corning, the GlassBarge tour emphasizes the continued role of New York’s waterways in shaping the state’s industry, culture, and community.
A f lotilla of historic ships will accompany GlassBarge, including: the Lois McClure, a replica of an 1862 canal barge, and the C.L. Churchill, a 1964 tugboat, both part of the permanent collection of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The museum will share the story of 19th- century canal life and how materials were shipped on New York’s wa- terways. On the Erie Canal, GlassBarge will be moved by an historic tug from the fleet of the South Street Seaport Museum, connecting upstate and downstate by water.
Timed tickets for the demonstrations are available at www.cmog.org/ GlassBarge. Demos can also be viewed from shore without a reservation.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum will invite people aboard the Lois McClure to learn about life on board a canal barge in the 19th century. Tours are first come, first served and do not require registration.