The Village of Pittsford will host a community-wide celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal on Saturday and Sunday, September 27 & 28, 2025. This special weekend will showcase history, music, food, and fun as Pittsford celebrates its history along the historic waterway.
One of the highlights will be the arrival of a flotilla of canal boats, including the Sam Patch, the Riverie, the Colonial Belle, and the historic replica Seneca Chief, the vessel that carried Governor DeWitt Clinton when the Canal opened in 1825. Visitors can enjoy live music, a canal history exhibit, guided tours, dance performances, and a festive welcome at Schoen Place. There will also be a dock decorating contest, village-wide sidewalk sale, and plenty of activities for all ages.
We’re proud to contribute to the Village Celebration by hosting two Town performances in Carpenter Park at the Port of Pittsford on Sunday, September 28. Carpenter Park is located at 22 North Main Street.
At 2:00pm, we’ll host the Cecilia Whalen Dance Company performance of "The Erie Canal Project," an original dance performance inspired by traditional folk music and Canal history. It is choreographed Cecilia. Whalen, Residency Artist with the Baryshnikov Arts Center, and performed by her dance company and the Nazareth University Dance Ensemble. The performance is at the Carpenter Park pavilion. In case of rain, it will be held at the Pittsford Community Library in the Fisher Meeting Room.
The event will begin with a brief introduction by Miss Whalen, who will discuss the inspiration behind the project and its development. The performance is funded by a grant from Monroe County, with additional funding from the Town of Pittsford. It is sponsored by Nazareth University, the Village of Pittsford and the Town of Pittsford, and is free and open to the public.
"The Erie Canal Project" is performed by Diego Gómez, Priscilla Vasquez, Natasha Schmid, Ghislaine van den Heuvel, Rebecca Pelleri, Kai McCoy and Tara Kuhl.
To learn more about her works, visit Cecilia Whalen's website.
At 3:00pm, musician, singer and songwriter Don Dwyer brings Songs and Stories of the Erie Canal to life. Based in the Buffalo, NY area, Don has performed across New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Tennessee, sharing music that captures the history, struggles, and spirit of the 19th century.
For many years, Mr. Dwyer performed with the Irish Volunteers Civil War Band, appearing at events such as the Gettysburg Music Muster, the Windham Civil War Heritage Gathering, the President James Garfield Home Civil War Weekend, and the Mumford Civil War Weekend. He has also performed for historical societies across the region.
Don proudly honors his family’s history—his 3x great-grandfather and great-uncles, Irish immigrants who fought in the Civil War—through his performances.
In addition to his Erie Canal and Civil War repertoire, Don has been a part of the Irish music scene for 30 years, performing with Sons of the Gael and St. Brendan’s Fancy. Visit his website to learn more: Don Dwyer Civil War Music.
The Town will also host the New York State Museum’s traveling exhibit, “Enterprising Waters: New York’s Erie Canal,” which will be displayed at the Spiegel Community Center (Sept. 14–20) and the Pittsford Community Library (Sept. 21–26) before moving to Schoen Place for the big weekend.
We have Town programs information at www.townofpittsford.org/eriecanal200. Find complete Erie Canal Bicentennial event details on the Pittsford Village website at bit.ly/canal-bicentenial.
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