Canalside Buffalo offers a calendar full
of fun and festivals—more than 1,000
events a year— featuring live music,
artisans, food and kid-friendly activities.
The waterfront is home to America’s
largest inland naval park, the Buffalo
& Erie County Naval & Military Park,
while the Erie Basin Marina features an
observation tower with breathtaking
views of Buffalo and Canada. You can
rent a kayak or waterbike or take a cruise
aboard the Queen City Ferry, the Spirit of
Buffalo or Buffalo Harbor Cruises to see it
all! canalsidebuffalo.com
The Erie Canal by Water
During the canal navigation season—
May 19 – October 11, 2017—there are
numerous opportunities to cruise the
canal on vessels that hark back to the
early days of Canal life…
• Colonial Belle (Fairport)
colonialbelle.com
• Erie Canal Cruises (Herkimer)
eriecanalcruises.com
• Lockport Cave and Underground
Boat Ride (Lockport) lockportcave.com
• Mid-Lakes Navigation (Macedon) —
midlakesnav.com
• Sam Patch (Pittsford)
Sampatch.org
Water Music New York is The Albany
Symphony Orchestra’s unique musical
celebration of the Bicentennial of the
Erie Canal. Beginning in Albany on July 2
and concluding in Lockport on July 8, the
musicians will travel by barge, making
a total of seven stops on their journey
to perform newly commissioned works
by young American composers. Water
Music NY will transform the downtown
and waterfront areas of each venue into
day-long block parties. Other cities on
the tour are Schenectady, Amsterdam,
Little Falls, Baldwinsville and Brockport.
albanysymphony.com/journeybegins
Schooner Lois McClure Legacy Tour
will bring the Lake Champlain Maritime
Museum’s replica of an 1862 sailing
freighter turned canal boat to 38 ports
along the Champlain and Erie Canals
between July 1 and Oct. 15. Check the
Museum website for details about the
schooner’s itinerary. lcmm.org
82 | 2017 in new york: A yeAr of milestones
The Erie Canal Discovery Center and
“Flight of Five” Locks in Lockport invite
visitors to witness canal-lock physics in
action. The Discovery Center is housed
in a c.1843 “canal stone” building, next
to the historic “Flight of Five.” Lockport’s
“staircase” of five locks is an engineering
marvel, ascending to a height of 60 feet
within a distance of only 550 feet.
niagarahistory.org/discovery-center
discoverlockport.com
GlassBarge
In 2017, to help celebrate the kickoff of
the canal’s bicentennial, the Corning
Museum of Glass will send its all
new floating performance venue to
participate in three waterfront events
along the Erie Canal. The Hot Glass
Demo Team will provide free public hot
glass programming, including daily
glassmaking demonstrations every hour
on the hour.
• June 2-4 at Fairport Canal Days will
mark GlassBarge’s maiden voyage.
• July 7-9 at Seneca Falls Canal Fest
honors the centennial of women winning
the right to vote with an all-female
glassblowing team.
• Sept. 24-28 for the World Canals
Conference in Syracuse. Check website
for details on the off-site venue.
cmog.org
The annual World Canals Conference
attracts canal professionals, tourism
experts, academics, canal enthusiasts
and boaters from around the world.
The conference comes to Syracuse
September 24 –28 to celebrate 2017’s
bicentennial of the Erie Canal. The
Public Event Day at Syracuse Inner
Harbor features canal-themed boats,
booths, food, music and performances.
The cultural institutions in downtown
Syracuse stay open late and feature
waterway exhibits in honor of the
conference. wcc2017syracuse.com