FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 31, 2006
IRISH MUSIC FESTIVAL TO CRUISE NEW YORK’S CANAL SYSTEM
10-Day “Festival on the Erie” Takes Place June 2 – 11 from Waterford to Syracuse
Local Concerts to Feature Well-Known Regional and International Performers
New York State Canal Corporation Director Carmella R. Mantello today announced that “Festival on the Erie,” a traveling 10-day Irish music festival, will hit the waters of the Canal System this Friday, June 2 in Waterford, NY and conclude on Sunday, June 11 in Syracuse. The Festival is being organized by the Boys of Wexford, LLC in conjunction with the Canal Corporation and will feature more than 20 well-known regional and international musicians.
“We are proud to partner with the Boys of Wexford LLC and local canal communities on what promises to be an exciting ten days of Irish music and culture on the New York Canal System,” Mantello said. “The unique and eclectic cultural heritage inherent to the Erie Canal corridor is unparalleled anywhere else in the country. 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.”
Even those who do not play an instrument will enjoy the music at the Festival. Try and sit still as a Donegal fiddle, dulcimer, bagpipes, accordions, harps, tin whistles, banjos, drums, guitars and more combine for traditional Irish songs. Additionally, the Boys of Wexford will teach a few “crew songs” and invite all guests to participate in an informal “seisiun” of jamming, singing and playing.
Irish music celebrities joining the “Boys” at the event will include PV O’Donnell, Claudine Langille (member of the Touchstones), Don Sineti (member of The Morgan’s) and George Ward (creator of “Oh That Low Bridge! Songs of the Erie Canal!).
Date - Location - Time
Fri, 6/2 - Waterford - Show: 5:30 – 7 p.m.; Seisiun: 8 p.m. – late
Sat, 6/3 - Amsterdam - Show: 7 – 8:30 p.m; Seisiun: 9 p.m. – late
Sun, 6/4 - Canajoharie, Jim’s Irish Harbor - Lunch time
Sun, 6/4 - St. Johnsville - Show: 6:30 – 8 p.m; Seisiun: 8:30p.m. – late
Mon, 6/5 - Little Falls - Show: 6 – 7:30 p.m; Seisiun: 8 p.m. – late
Tue, 6/6 - Herkimer, “Gems Along the Mohawk” - Lunch time
Tue, 6/6 - Herkimer, Lock 20 - Show: 6 – 7:30 p.m; Seisiun: 8 p.m. - late
Wed, 6/7 - Rome - Show: 6 – 7:30 p.m; Seisiun: 8 p.m. – late
Thur, 6/8 - Brewerton - Show: 6 – 7:30 p.m; Seisiun: 8-9 p.m.
Fri, 6/9 - Sylvan Beach - Show: 7 – 8:30 p.m; Seisiun: 9 p.m.
Sat, 6/10 - Sylvan Beach - Show: 7 – 8:30 p.m; Seisiun: 9 p.m. - late
Sun, 6/11 - Syracuse, Coleman’s Pub - Show: 3 – 6:00 p.m
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. Since no civilian engineering schools existed in the United States during the years in which the Erie Canal was built, these men learned on the job, many of whom later built other canals and largely contributed to American civil engineering.
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.
In late May 2005, Governor Pataki unveiled his vision for establishing the Erie Canal Greenway and, ultimately, the Empire State Greenway, connecting the Niagara, Erie and Hudson River Greenways. The Canal Corporation and an interagency task force will conduct an outreach campaign to gather input and ideas, and develop a comprehensive set of recommendations to create the new Erie and Empire State Greenways and examine certain roles and responsibilities currently assigned to the Canal Corporation. The recommendations were delivered in a report to the Governor in December 2005.
For more information about news and events along the New York State Canal System, please call 1-800-4CANAL4 or visit www.canals.state.ny.us.
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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.