For Immediate Release: June 24, 2005
TUG URGER’S 2005 SUMMER EVENTS PROGRAM ANNOUNCED
Flagship Vessel to Participate in Six Festivals Across State
The New York State Canal Corporation today announced that the Tug Urger, its flagship vessel, has added six summer festivals to the 2005 schedule.
Christened the Henry J. Dornbos in Michigan on June 13, 1901, the Tug Urger became property of the New York State Canal Corporation when the Corporation was created in 1992. Since that time, the Urger has served as an official “ambassador” for the historic 524-mile waterway.
Today, the Urger visits Canalside communities, presenting New York’s fourth-grade students with an interactive hands-on history lesson on the remarkable Tug and the historic Canal System.
In addition to learning about the Urger’s past and the role of a tug boat and its crew, public boat tours afford children and adults the opportunity to learn how a bell boat works. The Urger is among the oldest operating bell boats in the United States today.
While the school year may be over for students across the State, the Urger continues to make its way across the Canal System educating the public. A portion of the Urger’s schedule is posted below:
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| July 1-2, 2005 | Annual Steamboat Rally, Waterford |
| July 9-10, 2005 | Lock 7-12 Canal Fest Riverlink Park, Amsterdam |
| July 28-31, 2005 | Harbor Fest, Oswego |
| August 13-23, 2005 | John J. Harvey Blue Links Hudson River Trip |
| September 3-4, 2005 | Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum, NYC |
| September 9-11, 2005 | Tugboat Roundup, Waterford |
For more information about the Urger’s educational programs or public boat tours, call 518-436-2799 or visit the Canal Corporation’s Website at http://www.canals.state.ny.us/cculture/tugboat-schedule.html. Dates and events are subject to change and are weather dependent.
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 Niagara River with communities rich in history and culture. For more information about NYS Canals, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.canals.state.ny.us.
-30-