Canal Festival kicks off July 10

By Dan King

Although the summer solstice may have already happened, officials say summer doesn’t really get underway in Whitehall until next Friday.

Whitehall’s annual Canal Festival is set to kick off on Friday, July 10, at 6 p.m. in the parks along the canal.

For more than 30 years the Canal Festival has marked the unofficial start of summer in Whitehall. According to the committee, the event was originally planned as a form of entertainment for residents who did not leave the town frequently; from there the event has grown into an annual festival, and this year’s festival features plenty forms of entertainment for people with a variety of different interests.

At 6 p.m. on Friday, the cake booth will get things started, as attendees can place a wager on a lucky number and if that number is drawn, they will win themselves a tasty treat. There will also be a variety of vendors, food, children’s games and rides in the park. All of the activities will run until the first day concludes at 9 p.m.

Also on day one, Steel Pier Jazz Band, a popular group, will take center stage in the picnic shelter from 6-9 p.m. The band has performed in Whitehall’s summer concert series in years past, and organizers have called them very popular among Whitehallers.

“They used to play on the boats in Lake George and everyone would get up and dance; they are a very popular group,” said committee member Carol Greenough.

Saturday is when the festival really gets into full swing, with festivities running from noon to 10 p.m. and featuring a virtual cornucopia of things to do.

At noon on Saturday, a chicken barbecue will be offered as the vendors, food suppliers, children’s games and rides get set back up and will run all day.

Starting at 4:30 p.m. and going until 7:30 p.m., the popular Wing Clydesdales carriage rides will be provided around the village. Organizers said they bring the carriage rides back each year because they are a particularly popular feature. At 7:30 p.m. the second round of live music gets underway, as the Saratoga-based cover band, Children at Play, will crank out tunes in the park amphitheater until 9:30 p.m.

“Nancy Brooks is their lead vocalist, and she’s a real showman and a great singer,” Greenough said.

Following the rocking show, the festival winds to its end with perhaps the most popular event of the weekend, the firework display. The fireworks illuminate the night sky above the Champlain Canal, drawing onlookers from all around Whitehall.

“Fireworks are always going to be good and we’ve been with the same people for fireworks since the beginning,” Greenough said.

Greenough suggested that those who want the best vantage point of the fireworks either make their way up Skene Mountain or perhaps launch a kayak or canoe into the Champlain Canal.

Even after Whitehall’s Canal Festival, the live music in the Birthplace of the U.S. Navy continues on every Friday until Aug. 21, over at the 1892 Bandstand in Riverside Veterans Memorial Park.

On July 17 the big band known as the Moonlighters takes the stage; the following week, July 24, the rock n roll band Freewheelin’ (formerly Airtight) will perform; and then on July 31 the country band Bluebillies will perform.

August will feature the big band Enerjazz on Aug. 7; Donnie P & Celebration will throw a change of pace with some polka on Aug. 14; and the Music in the Park series comes to an end on Aug. 21 with the Hartford Community Band.

All Music in the Park concerts run from 7-9 p.m. and are free and open to the public. Attendees are encouraged to bring a chair or a towel to sit on, because seating in the park is limited.