Canal Days is a marine heritage festival held in Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada. The festival has been held annually since it was started in 1979 by the Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum.
Port Colborne is located on the north-east shore of Lake Erie, on the southern portion of the Niagara Peninsula, and is about 30 minutes drive from the US border at Buffalo, New York. The city is also the southern terminus of the Welland Canal, where ocean vessels pass through the downtown area on their way into the inner Great Lakes, or out to sea.
Canal Days began in 1979 as part of a larger regional celebration of the 150th anniversary of the opening of the First Welland Canal. 400 visitors attended at the Museum grounds where the festival was held. In 1980 the Museum decided to continue with the festival, and it has grown larger each year since.
During Canal Days the downtown streets and lift-bridge are closed to traffic. The festival provides a supervised children's area with live entertainment, a carnival midway, and a live bird of prey and reptile exhibit. Tall Ships moored along the canal wall are open for exploration. The ships provide cruises including a day-long journey from Lake Ontario, through the canal locks.
The festival also hosts an open-air vending area and outdoor food court, and Ontario's largest outdoor vintage car show and kite display is located at H.H. Knoll park. The Roselawn Centre for the Living Arts hosts a Jazz on the Lawn concert with big band music; other performances include classic rock headliners, tribute bands, and local musicians.
The festival culminates with a boat parade along the Port Colborne canal corridor and a fireworks display over the water.
Past Bands
Year Band(s) 2001 The Northern Pikes 2006 Starship featuring Mickey Thomas 2007 Spirit of the West, David Wilcox, Sass Jordan 2008 Hedley, David Wilcox 2009 54-40, The Georgia Satellites, Ill Scarlett, Bachman Cummings (Randy Bachman & Burton Cummings), Steve Strongman, Kim Mitchell 2010 Trooper, David Wilcox, Big Sugar 2011 Sister Act and The Caverners 2012 The Trews, Sloan 2013 The Tea Party with Bleaker Ridge and TimeGiant, April Wine 2014 Moist, IllScarlett 2015 I Mother Earth, Big Wreck, Junkhouse 2016 Finger Eleven, Kim Mitchell, David Wilcox 2017 Headstones, Big Sugar, The Sadies 2018 54-40, Blue Rodeo, The Lowest of the Low
References
External links Port Colborne Port Colborne Economic and Tourism Development Corp. Canal days homepage