ALBANY, NY (08/12/2010)(readMedia)--

The fifth annual Canal Splash! weekend kicked off today at the Waterford Canal Harbor in Saratoga County with the opening of a handicap accessible pathway leading to new floating docks for canoes and kayaks.

New York State Canal Corporation Director Carmella R. Mantello joined representatives from the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Parks and Trails New York, state and local officials, and community organizers for the event at Waterford.

Canal Splash!, scheduled from August 13 to August 15, 2010, is a multi-location celebration that features nearly 100 activities, including nature walks, educational exhibits, boating events, musical performances, and history tours.

The weekend-long event celebrates the history, culture, recreational appeal and beauty of the New York State Canal System, the Canalway Trail, and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

"The Erie Canal is not only an historic waterway that should be maintained for commerce and economic development but also a source of pride for New Yorkers who enjoy its miles of parks, trails and boating," said Governor David A. Paterson. "The Canal Splash! offers so many different activities for New Yorkers of all ages, including numerous fun and educational opportunities, while also encouraging physical activity."

Canals Director Mantello said, "The fifth annual Canal Splash! has something for everyone to enjoy with nearly 100 events and activities planned throughout the weekend. I encourage residents and visitors to pick one or several events to attend to experience the multitude of recreational, historical, and cultural assets available throughout the Canal System. The Canal Corporation is pleased to continue its partnership with the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and Parks and Trails New York to build upon the success of this annual event."

Beth Sciumeca, Executive Director of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, said, "Eighty percent of New Yorkers live within 25 miles of the canal, so Canal Splash! presents a great opportunity for people to enjoy this nationally-significant treasure right in their own backyard."

Robin Dropkin, Executive Director of Parks and Trails New York, said, "Canal Splash! highlights all the interesting and fun things there are to do along the NYS Canal System, and it's just the tip of the iceberg. Between the museums, historic sites, cultural activities, and the Canalway Trail, there is something for all ages and interests."

At today's event the New York State Canal Corporation and the Town of Waterford announced the opening of Phase I of a $225,000 Canal Greenway Grant Project below Lock 2 to install a handicap accessible pathway, floating docks for canoes and kayaks, and landscaping. These improvements will help enhance the recently announced Canalway Water Trail, an initiative by the Canal Corporation to promote launch and landing sites along the Canal System.

State Senator Roy McDonald of Saratoga said: "This is a great project and highlights once again why our area is a great place to live and raise your family. I grew up across the river and enjoyed the outdoor activities we had available back then, and today this kayak launch provides a new recreation opportunity to those of all ages. I will be using this launch myself, I have a great time going out kayaking and enjoying the natural beauty that is Upstate New York."

Waterford Town Supervisor John Lawler, said, "Our Visitor Center, promenade and floating docks have attracted boaters from all over the world to our small town. This would not have been possible without our partnership with the New York State Canal Corporation. Today we celebrate another phase of our waterfront development. These new docks will welcome small craft and we look forward to seeing kayaks, canoes and rowboats docking here and enjoying this new park."

Director Mantello said, "The pathway and canoe and kayak launch project, funded by the Erie Canal Greenway Grant Program and the Town of Waterford, enhances public access to the Erie Canal, and will have both a beneficial effect on the character of the community and will be an economic and tourism boost to the region. We would like to thank the Town of Waterford for partnering with the Canal Corporation and commend them for their ongoing efforts by enhancing this recreational and tourism asset of the Canal System."

The Erie Canal Greenway Grant Program, administered by the Canal Corporation, was created to help spur community revitalization along the 524-mile Canal System. Fifty-four Greenway grants were awarded on a competitive basis to communities and non-profit organizations for capital projects that enhance and promote tourism, recreation, historic interpretation, and community revitalization in 19 counties along the New York State Canal System. All grants require a 50-percent match in local funds or in-kind services.

Following are highlights of Canal Splash! events taking place throughout the state the weekend of August 12-15:

Champlain Canal Region

• 6th Annual Cardboard Boat Race – Schuylerville, NY: Come join the fun as a spectator or enter the race. Build a human-powered boat made of corrugated cardboard or 100% recycled materials that will hold one crewmember and is seaworthy on the Hudson River in Schuylerville.
• The Hyde Collection - Glens Falls, NY: Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic" exhibition.. Anne Knutson, guest curator for an exhibition of the same name as the lecture, held at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 2005, will also speak on Wyeth's interest in the artistic concept of magic realism.

Erie Canal Region

• Friday Concert Series – Tonawanda, NY: Friday Night Concert Series presents Naughty Dawg to perform on the Erie Canal.
• Canal Festival – Brighton, NY: Travel back in time to the exciting era of the Erie Canals early years! Hear the intriguing stories of historical re-enactors as canal boaters. Get your juices flowing with a family musical performance at 11:30 a.m., and have some good old-fashioned fun playing games, enjoying food, and learning about the historic Erie Canal. There will be plenty of food and fun for the entire family!
• Following the Flow, A Tale of Two Erie Canals – Weedsport, NY: Take a county-wide tour of five outstanding canal sites with narratives by volunteer guides that pulls them all together. Also available is a guided driving and walking tour.
• All-Day Cruise - Syracuse to Seneca Falls, NY: All-Day Cruise starting on the Erie Canal and ending in Seneca Falls on the Cayuga Seneca Canal. Cruise departs Dutchman's Landing near Syracuse and includes a continental breakfast, buffet lunch and afternoon snack. See canal locks, Cross Lake, Montezuma Wildlife Refuge and the great double locks at Seneca Falls.
• 23rd Annual Little Falls Canal Celebration – Little Falls, NY: A week-long event with community wide programs and events that promote family participation and awareness of the city's beautiful waterway, natural resources, historic buildings, attractions, unique shops and opportunities. Events include canoe races, parade, boat/ walking tours, car show, arts, crafts, food, fishing derbies, foot and bike races, music and fireworks.
• Trolley & Canal Tours – Albany to Waterford and Cohoes, NY: The Trolley & Canal Tour includes round-trip trolley trip from Albany to Waterford, home of the Erie-Champlain Canal Boat Company at the Waterford Harbor Center. Visit the Cohoes Falls on the way to tour the Erie Canal. Tour the Tug Chancellor and enjoy a walking tour of Champlain Canal side-cut and towpath.

Oswego Canal

• Magic In Minetto – Minetto, NY: Music, history displays, food and drink, and a canoe and kayak race.
• Fulton Jazz Festival – Fulton, NY: Two days of great music from a variety of local and regional performers combined with mouthwatering food with a Cajun flair.

Cayuga-Seneca Canal

• Walking Tours - Historic Seneca Falls, NY, and the Seneca-Cayuga Canal: Burt Burtless, a retired history professor, leads tour groups along the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, the Flats where the original village stood, and around the village including the Women's Rights National Historical Park, and the National Women's Hall of Fame.
• Welcome Fuzzy Guppies – Waterloo, NY: Stop in and try one of the human-powered watercrafts. Rent a canoe, kayak, paddle boat or walk on the water with the hamster ball.

A complete program of events is available on-line at www.canals.ny.gov/exvac/special-events/splash/index.html. An informational brochure is also available at various locations along the canal, including many canalside businesses, visitor centers, and canal locks and harbors. For more information about anal Splash!, please visit www.canals.ny.gov/exvac/special-events/splash/index.html.

Canal Splash! is organized by the New York State Canal Corporation in partnership with the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and Parks and Trails New York.

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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 more information regarding events, recreation and vacation opportunities along the Canal System, please visit www.canals.ny.gov or call 1-800-4CANAL4.

The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor is one of 37 National Heritage Areas in the nation. For information, please visit www.eriecanalway.org.

The Canal Corporation is a proud sponsor of the 2010 World Canals Conference to be held in Rochester, N.Y., from Sunday, September 19, 2010, through Thursday September 23, 2010. For more information about the World Canals Conference please call 585-355-6037 or visit www.wccrochester.org .

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Posted Thursday August 12, 2010 at 11:37 am by New York State Canal Corporation
Last Updated Thursday August 26, 2010 at 12:25 pm