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Tag: Erie Canal

Events

Elizabeth Ellis at Schoharie Crossing

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Elizabeth Ellis at Schoharie Crossing

Nationally known storyteller Elizabeth Ellis will be performing at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site on Sunday, August 6th at 6:00pm. Her performance entitled “Deniable Plausibility/Plausible Deniability: Tales True and Not So True” will take place outdoors in front of the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center on Schoharie Street.  The show will move indoors in case of rain. Guests are invited to linger, chat, and enjoy refreshments after the show. The event is free.

Elizabeth Ellis grew up in the Appalachian Mountains and learned to tell stories from her grandfather who was a circuit riding minister. As a storyteller, Ellis doesn’t mince words. Filled with hilarious and poignant honesty, her stories deliver downhome wisdom, southern style. Designated an American Masterpiece Touring Artist by the National Endowment for the Arts, Ellis has been sharing her stories since 1979. She is a frequent favorite at the National Storytelling festival and is the recipient of both the Lifetime Achievement Award and the Circle of Excellence Award from the National Storytelling Network. Both witty and wise, her stories are often about seeing the extraordinary in our everyday experience.

Guests are also encouraged to participate in Schoharie Crossing’s Chalk Our Walk event happening that same weekend. To expand the creative reach of Schoharie Crossing’s Views and Vista’s Art show, adults and children are invited to create their own artwork on the sidewalk leading to the Visitor Center. Participants will be eligible for a drawing for a gift certificate.

The Not Just for Kids Storytelling series continues throughout August and into September. The following artists will be part of the series:  Peter Cook, Aug. 13, Michael Reno Harrell, Aug. 20, Joe Bruchac, Aug. 27 and Becky Holder, Sept. 10.

Saratoga Arts made this program possible with a Community Arts Grant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The program is also supported by Stewart’s Shops, L’Ultimo Restaurant, MaryJane’s Market, the Garden Bug and Karen’s Produce.

For more information about these events and more, please call the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516, email: SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov, or visit our Facebook page Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 60 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.

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Storyteller Jeannine Laverty to Perform at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

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Storyteller Jeannine Laverty to Perform

 at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site 

Nationally known storyteller Jeannine Laverty will be performing at Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site on Sunday, July 30 at 6:00pm as the kickoff event of the annual Not Just for Kids Storytelling series.  Her performance will take place outdoors in front of the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center on Schoharie Street in Fort Hunter.  The show will move indoors in case of rain. Guests are invited to linger, chat, and enjoy refreshments after the show. The event is free.

Jeannine Laverty is a gifted storyteller, who has been performing since 1979. Her wide range of stories spans the world from the Adirondacks to Asia giving her audience a deeply satisfying understanding of the world through the eyes of another. She also uses her storytelling talent to teach other tellers, and she has been the recipient of many awards including a leadership award from the National Storytelling Network.

The Not Just for Kids Storytelling series continues throughout August and into September.  The following artists will be part of the series:  Elizabeth Ellis, Aug. 6, Peter Cook, Aug. 13, Michael Reno Harrell, Aug. 20, Joe Bruchac, Aug. 27 and Becky Holder, Sept. 10.

Saratoga Arts made this program possible with a Community Arts Grant funded by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The program is also supported by Stewart’s Shops, L’Ultimo Restaurant, MaryJane’s Market, the Garden Bug and Karen’s Produce.

For more information about these events and more, please call the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516, email: SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov, or visit our Facebook page Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 60 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.

Cinema Saturday at Schoharie Crossing

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Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site will be screening the 1935 classic film, A Farmer Takes A Wife starring Henry Fonda and Janet Gaynor on July 22nd starting at 7:30pm, outside the Visitor Center on Schoharie Street in Fort Hunter. Join in the fun as we watch this wonderful and charming love story set on the Erie Canal in the mid-19th Century.

A farmer works on the canal to earn money to buy a farm. He meets a cook on a canal boat, but she can’t even consider leaving the exciting life on the canal for a banal one on a farm. Jotham Klore is the leading canal boater on the Erie Canal. He’s also a bullying braggart. His cook, Molly Larkins, loves working on the canal. Young Dan Farrow signs onto another boat, owned by Samson Weaver, with plans to save enough money to buy a farm. Dan and Molly fall in love, but their romance runs aground on the conflict between his love of farming and her devotion to the canal.

This film is adapted from the play that was based on the book Rome Haul by Walter D. Edmonds.

The viewing moves inside the Enders House if raining. This is a free event open to the public. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating. Popcorn and other refreshments will be available.

For more information find us on Facebook or contact the site: SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov (518) 829-7516.

Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site hosts lecture on the history of the Erie Canal

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Erie CanalAs part of a statewide commemoration of the Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary, the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site in Fort Hunter and the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse will host a lecture by Dr. Carol Sheriff, author of The Artificial River, Sunday, July 23, at 4:00 p.m. inside the newly renovated Visitors Center at 129 Schoharie Street.

Reflections on Erie’s Waters is a collaboration between The Erie Canal Museum and The Canal Society of New York State to commemorate the waterway’s bicentennial and examine its legacy and future through diverse viewpoints. Reflections presents an inclusive view of the Erie Canal, examines its relevance and importance and heightens awareness of its historical impact, current significance and future potential through a series of workshops, lectures and exhibits.

Dr. Sheriff’s lecture, Becoming Second Nature: The Erie Canal’s Early History, examines how the new waterway initially symbolized the young republic’s technological and economic progress, and was even hailed as a divinely ordained mission. She will discuss how the Erie Canal redefined daily routines, livelihoods and values for thousands of New Yorkers, and remapped the region’s physical and human geography.

Dr. Sheriff is author of The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress, 1817-1862, which was honored by the New York State Historical Association in 1996. She is a Professor of History at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, and co-author of several American history publications and textbooks.

The Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site is dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the Erie Canal as one of the 19th century’s greatest commercial and engineering projects. The Visitor Center exhibit traces the history of the Erie Canal and its impact on the growth of New York State and the nation. Within the site’s boundaries are many structures dating from the three eras of the canal’s development. For more information, call (518) 829-7516.

Committed to preserving the only existing weighlock building in the United States, the Erie Canal Museum collects and conserves Canal material, champions an appreciation and understanding of Erie Canal history through educational programming, and promotes an awareness of the Canal’s transforming effects on the past, present and future. The Museum is open from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free with a suggested $5 donation.

For more information on the Reflections on Erie’s Waters program or any of the artist-led workshops or statewide lecture series, contact Vicki Krisak, Director of Communications and Outreach, Erie Canal Museum, vicki@eriecanalmuseum.org, (315) 471-0593, ext. 15, or visit the Erie Canal Museum website Eriecanalmuseum.org.

Reflections on Erie’s Waters is supported by the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

 

Schooner Lois McClure Legacy Tour: The Canal Bicentennial Begins, in port at Amsterdam and Canajoharie

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Replica 1862 Canal Schooner Lois McClure on the Champlain Canal – Stern. Courtesy Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Replica 1862 Canal Schooner Lois McClure on the Champlain Canal – Stern. Courtesy Lake Champlain Maritime Museum

Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s (LCMM’s) replica 1862 canal schooner Lois McClure (opens in a new tab) will be in port at Riverlink Park in Amsterdam on Thursday, July 13 from 12-6pm and Riverfront Park in Canajoharie on Friday, July 14 from 4-7pm during her 2017 Legacy Tour commemorating the Erie Canal Bicentennial. The World Canals Conference, which celebrates canals as “agents of transformation,” inspired the 2017 “Legacy Tour” of Lois McClure.  The tour pays tribute to the legacy of the canals, which celebrate 200 years in 2017, and the legacy of the Northern Forest trees, which built the thousands of wooden boats that plied our waterways. Visitors can board the schooner free of charge to explore the 88-foot long boat and a special exhibit.” “The Lois McClure has a unique capability to bring 200 years of canal history to life, while engaging people to appreciate and protect our legacy waterways,” says New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian U. Stratton.  “It can also help inform how the canal system can best serve the evolving needs of present and future generations.”

During the Legacy Tour the schooner crew will share with community members and students a maritime perspective on the relationship between waterways and trees, canal boats and forests through an initiative called Stem to Stern. “The forests and the waterways are a key to understanding how America transformed into a powerful and prosperous nation,” says Erick Tichonuk, LCMM Co-Executive Director. “Using human and animal power, the canal builders cleared a pathway 60 feet wide and more than 400 miles long, much of it through forested lands, to create the water highway that brought an economic boom. Almost overnight, natural resources too bulky to ship overland became valuable commodities.” The canals opened a floodgate of trade between the Champlain Valley, ports along the Hudson River and the Atlantic Seaboard, and through western New York to the Great Lakes.

However, the transformation also brought some unintended consequences. Stem to Stern is designed to spark insight into the impact of deforestation: eroded soil, silted waterways, loss of habitat for fish and wildlife, and the arrival of invasive species. Marking the transition to an era of habitat for fish and wildlife, and the arrival of invasive species. Marking the transition to an era sustainable forestry and environmental stewardship, the schooner will transport a cargo of white oak and white pine seedlings provided by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Trees for Tributaries Program, to be planted in communities along the canal.

Further information and the full itinerary of the 2017 Legacy Tour can be found at www.lcmm.org (opens in a new tab) . Travel conditions for this traditional wooden vessel are weather dependent, so the schedule is subject to change.

Lois McClure was built by LCMM shipwrights and volunteers on the Burlington waterfront, based on two shipwrecks of 1862-class canal schooners discovered in Lake Champlain. Since 2004, Lois McClure has cruised Lake Champlain, the Hudson and St. Lawrence Rivers, and the Erie Canal System, and has visited over 200 communities and welcomed aboard more than 225,000 visitors. As an authentic replica, Lois McClure has no means of propulsion other than sail, so 1964 tugboat C. L. Churchill serves as power. As with all wooden vessels, constant care and maintenance is needed to ensure safe and effective operation.

Free admission is offered throughout the tour thanks to the generous support of sponsors including the New York State Canal Corporation and the State of Vermont. Additional support has been provided by Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership, Lake Champlain Basin Program, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, the McClure family, the farm families of Cabot Creamery, Lake Champlain Transportation, Corning Museum of Glass, International Paper, and Vermont Family Forests. AmeriCorps Members have helped LCMM staff develop educational and interpretive materials for the project. Local hosts and supporters include the City of Amsterdam (opens in a new tab) , Village of Canajoharie (opens in a new tab) , the Arkell Museum at Canajoharie (opens in a new tab) , and the Fulton Montgomery Regional Chamber of Commerce (opens in a new tab) .  For information about the event, visit VisitMontgomeryCountyNY.com (opens in a new tab) or (518)725-0641.

 

Schooner Lois McClure is an educational outreach program of Lake Champlain Maritime Museum (LCMM), Vermont. A museum with a difference, LCMM brings underwater discoveries and lake adventures to the public in exciting and imaginative ways. The Museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through October 15, 2017. For more information visit www.lcmm.org (opens in a new tab) or call (802) 475-2022.

Views and Vistas Art Opening At Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

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Views and Vistas Art Opening

At Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site

 

The Friends of Schoharie Crossing are hosting a juried art exhibition entitled Views and Vistas: The Natural and Built Environment of Schoharie Crossing. The opening will take place on July 8 at the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center from 4-7pm.  Refreshments will be served, and singer song writer, Kate Blain will perform for the event.

Schoharie Crossing provides magnificent views of nature as well as human engineering. Historic Erie Canal structures are juxtaposed among the natural world of plants and animals along the Schoharie Creek and Mohawk River. The tranquil waterways, wetlands, and Erie Canal structures of Schoharie Crossing are wonderfully presented in the art work on display in the Schoharie Crossing Visitor Center.

The show was juried by 3 notable artists: Natalie Bobinka, Visual Arts Resource Teacher Schenectady High School, International Baccalaureate Visual Arts Instructor, Curator Butzel Gallery/Schenectady, NY, Joel Chapin, Professor of Fine Arts, director of the Perrella Gallery, and J. Bruce Schwabach, Emeritus Associate Professor of Art, Herkimer College of SUNY.

Sponsors of the opening include: Bourbon Street Wine and Liquor Warehouse, Hummingbird Hills Winery, The Wine Barrel, MaryJane’s Market, 518 Grille, Olde Brick House, Black Bear Wine and Spirits and Italian Oven.

The art opening will close out the first day of Canal Days, an annual community festival celebrating the history of the Erie Canal. Events earlier in the day include performances by blue grass band, Three Quarter North, wagon rides, J.D. Winslow Equestrian Entertainment,

Views and Vistas will run until August 20th in the newly renovated Visitor Center on Schoharie Street in Fort Hunter.  Please visit the Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site page of the New York State Parks website, nysparks.com, call Schoharie Crossing at 518 829-7516, or email SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov for more information.

The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation oversees 180 state parks and 35 historic sites, which are visited by 60 million people annually. For more information on any of these recreation areas, call 518-474-0456 or visit www.nysparks.com, connect on Facebook, or follow on Twitter.

 

Erie Canalway Itineraries to Help Visitors Find Great Experiences Along the Canal

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WATERFORD, NY- As the NYS Canal System gets set to open on May 19, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor has released nine new itineraries to lead people to great places and experiences along the Erie and Champlain Canals. The itineraries showcase some of the best historic sites, national and state parks, museums, and recreational experiences and are suited for weekend and day trips. Suggestions for cycling, hiking, paddling, and canal tours, as well as nearby places to eat or picnic are also included. ErieCanalwayItinerary_Capital-Region

The itineraries are available to download for free at https://eriecanalway.org/explore/itineraries (opens in a new tab) . 

“As we celebrate the bicentennial of Erie Canal construction in 1817, we hope these itineraries will entice people to enjoy the canal today and learn about its lasting impact on New York State and the Nation,” said Bob Radliff, Executive Director of Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.

Strong collaboration among national, state, and local partners made this project possible. Erie Canalway itineraries were funded with support from the National Park Service and Empire State Development’s Market NY program, part of the State’s Regional Economic Development Council awards. Each one features a national or state park along with nearby historic sites and canal recreation experiences.

Gavin Landry, Executive Director of Tourism for Empire State Development said, “We are proud to support the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor as we celebrate and promote the bicentennial of the Erie Canal this summer. These new itineraries will introduce travelers to some of Upstate New York’s best destinations, which will further bolster statewide tourism and the economic boost visitors bring to local businesses.”

“Whether it’s your first time on the Erie Canal or you’ve spent a lifetime enjoying this iconic waterway, these itineraries have something for everyone,” said New York State Canal Corporation Director Brian Stratton. “They are a great way to discover the rich history of the region and learn more about how the Erie Canal transformed the nation.”

Erie Canalway Itineraries INCLUDE:

Western New York

  • Go Where the Buffalonians Roam (Buffalo)
  • Experience the Power of Water (Niagara Falls and Lockport)

Central New York

  • Follow Where Mules Once Trod (Greater Syracuse)
  • Be Moved By Women and Water (Seneca Falls)

Mohawk Valley Region

Capital Region

  • Discover the Erie Canal (Albany, Troy, Waterford)

Champlain Canal

  • Follow America’s Destiny (Stillwater to Schuylerville)

The NYS Canal System is a NationalHistoric Landmark (opens in a new tab) that includes the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Spanning more than 500 miles, the waterway links the Hudson River with the Great Lakes, the Finger Lakes, and Lake Champlain. The canals form the backbone of the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor and connect hundreds of unique and historic communities. The 365-mile Erie Canalway Trail (opens in a new tab) is a multi-use trail from Albany to Buffalo, much of it along the canal’s former towpath. Together the canals and trail create a world-class recreationway that is a vibrant, scenic and unique New York resource.

ABOUT THE ERIE CANALWAY
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor preserves our extraordinary canal heritage, promotes the Corridor as a world-class tourism destination, and fosters vibrant communities connected by more than 500 miles of waterway. It achieves its mission in partnership with the National Park Service, New York State agencies, non-profit organizations, local residents, and more than 200 communities across the full expanse of upstate New York.
www.eriecanalway.org (opens in a new tab)

Schoharie Crossing: Call For Art

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call-for-artists-schoharie-crossing

Schoharie Crossing is putting out a Call For Art!

Views & Vistas: The Natural and Build Environment of Schoharie Crossing will be an exhibit in the renovated Visitor Center that will open in July of 2017. This juried exhibition is to feature terrific works by artists from New York State.  Click here (opens in a new tab) for more information.

Please help spread the word about this great opportunity!

For information:

SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov (opens in a new tab)

Janice Fontanella – Historic Site Manager  (518) 829-7516

Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site (opens in a new tab)

129 Schoharie Street

PO Box 140

Fort Hunter, NY 12069

Fall Foliage Report: September 28- October 4

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apple-picking-2016-bellingersI LOVE NY started the “New York Fall Foliage Report (opens in a new tab) ” on September 14 and continue until the end of the foliage season, around the first or second week in November.  Montgomery County has started its own annual report this year as well.

Reporting station:  Schoharie Crossing State Historic Site (opens in a new tab) , Fort Hunter

Percent of trees predicted to have changed by the coming weekend:  30%

Brilliance: Dull

Predominating colors: Greenish-Yellow, Rusty Brown with touches of Orange

Rating: Just changing

lock-e13-foliage-9_29_16
View from the Taste NY store at Lock E13 Living History Park.

October is a good time to take a scenic ride through the Mohawk Valley.  Many of our agritourism (opens in a new tab) sites are open featuring local products.  Have lunch or dinner at one of our many restaurants (opens in a new tab) .  Enjoy fall harvest events (opens in a new tab) or take in an art exhibit.  There is so much to do in Montgomery County!

The new Taste NY Store at Lock E13 Living History Park (opens in a new tab) is open daily.  Purchase local and regional products; take in the fall foliage and the Mohawk River views.  If you are lucky you’ll see a boat locking through.  Located in the New York State Thruway at milepost 187 westbound between exits 28 (Fultonville) and 29 (Canajoharie), you find a unique experience waiting for you.

Call for a free Harvest Tour Map!

1.800.743.7337

History & Hearsay

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History is full of mysteries and lies, not just facts.  Take the tour and see if you can guess which tale is NOT true.  Join site staff David for an exclusive tour of Schoharie Crossing on Tuesday, August 16th from 6:30p-8:30pm and learn interesting bits of history as well as mystery along the canal.  Test your intuition, detective skills, and see if you can spot the fib!

This 1.5 mile walk will take participants around features of the canal and through parts of a once bustling industrial town.  After the tour, enjoy some refreshments in the Visitor Center as you check out the exhibit, “Little Short of Madness,” discuss with others which tale might be the lie, and then stick around for the reveal!

Pre-registration is encouraged as space is limited.  A link to register online can be found on the site’s Facebook event page.  For more information or to register contact David at (518) 829-7516 or david.brooks@parks.ny.gov. 

For information about this event or the site, please call the Visitor Center at (518) 829-7516, or email SchoharieCrossing@parks.ny.gov. For more information about New York State Parks, visit the website at www.nysparks.com.