FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 8, 2007
“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
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
June 24 - 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
June 26 - St. Johnsville Marina Pavillion - 7:00pm-8:30pm
June 27 - Palatine Valley Dairy - 12:00pm-5:00pm
June 27 - Canajoharie Library - 6:30pm-8:00pm
June 27 - Jim’s Irish Harbor Pub (Canajoharie) - 8:30pm-11:00pm
June 28 - Amsterdam, Irish Home Society - 5:00pm-6:30pm
June 28 - American Legion Broadalbin Pavilion 7:00pm-9:00pm
June 29 - Freedom Park, Scotia - 6:30pm-9:00pm
June 29 - Kielty’s Restaurant, Waterford - 9:30pm-11:00pm
June 30 - Waterford Visitor Center - show starts at 7pm
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.
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 860-570-1312.
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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/.