The New York State Canal Corporation, the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and Parks & Trails New York have announced that the Fifth Annual Canal Splash! will take place during the weekend of August 13-15, 2010. This year’s Canal Splash! will offer a series of locally organized events designed to highlight the history, beauty, culture and recreational appeal of the New York State Canal System and Canalway Trail.

Any Canal Corridor community, business, club or non-profit organization may participate in the Canal Splash! and may register its event at www.nyscanals.gov/exvac/special-events/splash/index.html. Examples of local events include, but are not limited to, nature or history walks along the Canal or Canalway Trail; museum gallery features or exhibits; group bicycle rides on the Canalway Trail; rowing regattas; Canalside business or restaurant specials; kayak or canoe tours; cruise boat tours; Canal festivals, concerts and more.

The Canal Corporation encourages those along the Canal to help create awareness and generate additional exposure for their communities, businesses or events by participating in this year’s Canal Splash!. Last year’s Canal Splash! featured more than 120 events and attracted tens of thousands of visitors during the three day, multi-location celebration.

Canal Splash! will be promoted through a printed guide that will be distributed widely during July and August and will drive people to the online listing. In order to gain maximum exposure, it is encouraged that events be registered no later than June 3, 2010 to be included in the printed guide.

For more information about the Fifth Annual Canal Splash! or to register an event, please refer to www.nyscanals.gov/exvac/special-events/splash/index.html or contact the New York State Canal Corporation at (518) 436-3055.

The New York State Canal System is comprised of four historic waterways, the Erie, the Champlain, the Oswego and the Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Spanning 524 miles across New York State, the waterway links the Hudson River, Lake Champlain, Lake Ontario, the Finger Lakes and the Niagara River with communities rich in history and culture.

The Old Brutus Historical Society, Weedsport; Lock 52 Historical Society, Port Byron; and the Montezuma Historical Society, will present an all day canal sites tour as part of the statewide Canal Splash day. “Following The Flow: The Tale of Two Erie Canals; A Narrative Driving and Walking Tour Featuring Historic Canal Sites and Villages Along the Erie Canal in Cayuga County, NY, will be a day long celebration of the Erie Canal following its route through the three canal villages of Weedsport, Port Byron, and Montezuma.

Participants will learn about the original Erie Canal, and its replacement, the Enlarged Erie. We will tour five canal sites and see the remains of canal structures. We will also learn about the canal side businesses, a murder, the largest grain mill in the state (in 1830) and even a little about the Montezuma Swamps (and much more).

The tour is organized so that you can do it at your own pace, or, by joining one of two guided groups. The tours consists of two walking segments; one in Montezuma and the other in Port Byron; and driving between other stops that are located alongside the road. Both walking tours cover about 1.6 miles.

The guided tours are structured so that you can pick and chose what stops you wish to see. There is no cost for attending the tours. The organizers are asking that people pre-register if they wish to attend the guided tour.

Details on times and stops are available on the blog site at http://www.canalsplash.blogspot.com/

This event is part of a yearly Canal Splash Celebration of the extraordinary history and culture of the New York Canal System and the Erie Canalway Trail that is coordinated by the New York State Canal Corporation and the Erie Canalway National Corridor.

Photo: Erie Canal’s Centreport Aqueduct, West of Weedsport in Cayuga County. Courtesy http://www.eriecanal.org/

Canal Splash

Registration for 5th Canal Splash! Now Open

Canal Splash Event: Erie Canal Tour of Cayuga County