This is the 39th year of the Canal Fest. Debbie Darling, secretary says the Canal Fest is 100% volunteer. She says we do it because we love this, and it benefits the communities.
Let’s talk food. Keri Hyne, treasurer, says this year we have roast beef sandwiches, fresh steamed clams and one of the new additions is a sweet roasted corn dipped in mayonnaise and then crusted with a spicy Cheetos. Other things include, Italian sausage, fresh-made tacos and this weekend a Polish platter will be offered with sausage and homemade pierogies.
Craft weekend is this weekend and they have over 200 vendors. Debbie says they come from all over and set up for the weekend and it’s a great show.
Building boats is back again this year. The SlKA Cup Challenge. Teams of two can sign up and then on race day they have four hours to build the boat using only materials provided by the Canal Fest. They must use a secret adhesive which is also provided to them to hold the boat together. After they build the boat, they decorate it and at 6pm it’s race time. Debbie says “Some of them float some of them don’t, but it is so much fun to watch because they are so competitive and it’s a big deal. This year for the first time a representative from SIKA will be here to watch the race so it’s a big deal for us. For 39 years we have been doing this and teams sign up, it’s competitive, it’s fun, people line both bridges they watch it and it’s like a show that’s within the festival. You can’t describe it because there is so much excitement, they’re throwing water at one another, it’s just fun.”
For more information on the Canalfest go to Canalfest.org
