"Festival on the Erie" Returns to New York State Canal System

Roving Music Festival Takes Place June 23 – 30 from Marcy to Waterford, Local Concerts to Feature Well-Known Regional and International Performers

ALBANY, NY (06/08/2007)(readMedia)-- The New York State Canal Corporation today announced that “Festival on the Erie,” a traveling music festival, will once again hit the waters of the Canal System on Saturday, June 23 at Lock E-20 in Marcy and make its way east to Waterford, New York, to entertain crowds as part of the Annual Waterford Steamboat Roundup on Saturday, June 30. The Festival is being organized by the Boys of Wexford, LLC and will feature more than 20 well-known regional and international musicians and singers from New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont.

“The Canal Corporation is pleased to welcome back the Boys of Wexford and the ‘Festival on the Erie’ to New York’s Canal System,” Canal Corporation Director Carmella R. Mantello said. “Last year’s festival drew large audiences who came out to hear some great regional and ethnic music and learn more about the history and heritage of our Erie Canal and New York State. This year, the Boys will be playing an eclectic mix of music that is sure to appeal to both young and old. Once again, this event will celebrate a significant and enduring part of New York’s history, while providing fun-filled family entertainment for residents and visitors to the Canal.”

This year’s Festival is dubbed “America’s Music…Celtic Roots” and will feature Canal ballads, music of the sea, old-time Country, and folk songs from Ireland and Canada. Audience sing-a-longs and instrumental “jam sessions” will make for a memorable evening at each of the stops. A 16-foot model of the Irish famine ship “the Dunbrody,” will be on display at each of the performances.

Featured musicians and performers at this year’s Festival will include Don Sineti (member of The Morgan’s and resident Shantyman at Mystic Seaport, CT), Claudine Langille (member of the Touchstones and Gypsy Reel), Sheri Mortimer (a student of Tommy Makem, known for her old-style Irish tunes) and George Ward (creator of “Oh That Low Bridge! Songs of the Erie Canal!).

Date/Location/Time

June 23: Lock E-20, Marcy, 6:30pm-8:00pm

June 24: Bellamy Harbor, Rome, 4:00pm-8:00pm; The Savoy Restaurant, Rome, 8:00pm-11:00pm

June 25: Gems Along the Mohawk, Herkimer, 6:30pm-8:00pm

June 26: St. Johnsville Library, 6:00pm-7:00pm; St. Johnsville Marina Pavillion, 7:00pm-8:30pm

June 27: Palatine Valley Dairy, 12:00pm-5:00pm; Canajoharie Library, 6:30pm-8:00pm; Jim’s Irish Harbor Pub, (Canajoharie) 8:30pm-11:00pm

June 28: Amsterdam, Irish Home Society, 5:00pm-6:30pm

June 29: Freedom Park, Scotia,6:30pm-9:00pm; Kielty’s Restaurant, Waterford9:30pm-11:00pm

June 30: Waterford Visitor Center, 12:00pm-5:00pm; McGrievey’s Restaurant, Waterford, 6:00pm-9:00pm

When it opened in 1825, the Erie Canal had an immediate and lasting impact on the development of New York and the fledgling United States by opening up the vast western territories to trade and settlement. The “Festival on the Erie” recognizes the efforts of the Irish immigrants who dug the original canal by hand, as well as the generations of men and woman who have worked and lived on the Canal throughout its nearly 200 year history. Community members are invited to come out and celebrate New York’s rich Canal heritage at this series of free concerts.

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.

For boating information, vacation opportunities and events along the NYS Canal System, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.nyscanals.gov.

The New York State Thruway Authority/Canal Corporation offers a free email service called TRANSalert to its customers via email or text messaging to inform them of major incidents and emergencies that may affect travel on the Thruway or navigation on the Canal System. To sign up for the Canal TRANSalert service, customers can visit the Corporation's website at www.nyscanals.gov/tas/.

To sign-up for Thruway TRANSalerts please visit the Authority's website at www.nysthruway.gov/tas/.

NOTE TO MEDIA: To verify arrival times or to schedule interviews with members of the Boys of Wexford LLC or any of the traveling musicians, please contact Mike McGarry at 860-306-1367 or 860-524-6536.

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