Canal Festival returns to Whitehall

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By Dan King

Skenesborough Park will be happening Friday and Saturday.
The annual Whitehall Canal Festival kicks off on Friday at the Skenesborough Park. For more than 30 years, Canal Festival has marked the “unofficial start of summer,” with a variety of activities aimed at people with different interests.
“For over 30 years, Festival has been celebrated in Whitehall,” said James Aiken, a member of the committee that plans the event. “This year the committee plans to continue the event originally organized to give residents, who rarely traveled out of town, their own entertainment.”
The festivities on Friday include the popular cake booth, where attendees can place wagers on a spinning wheel, in the hopes of winning a cake, as well as a few other activities.
“Rides for children and games are popular,” added Aiken.
In addition to the cake booth and vendors, rides and games, there will be live music inside the picnic area at the park. Steel Pier Jazz Band will perform on Friday for the second year in a row. The band has become a staple in the Canal Festival, performing many times in years past.
The band was formed in the 1970s and was originally called “The Dixie Daddies.” They performed on the Lake George Cruise Boats for decades. Most of the band members are retired, but still enjoy brining Dixieland to the area.
On Saturday, the festivities continue with many of the same vendors, games and rides, with the added bonus of free horse rides from 4:30-7:30 p.m. The horse rides are offered by Wings Clydesdales Carriage Rides.
When the horse rides end and the crowd meanders back into the park, the band Freewheelin’ will take the stage inside the amphitheater. The band, formerly known as Airtight, is well known in the area as a classic rock and pop country band.
Following the performance by Freewheelin’, the night sky will be illuminated by the annual fireworks display. Organizers said the fireworks draw onlookers from all over the area.
Even when Canal Festival is done, the music will go on. Live music will take place in Skenesborough Park every Friday through Aug. 26, with the exception of July 22, when the Whitehall High School All-Class Reunion takes place.
The big band Moonlighters will be up on July 15; fellow big band Enerjazz is tabbed for July 29; country music will come from the Bluebillies on Aug. 5; Donnie P. and Celebration will crank out polka tunes on Aug. 12; Citizen’s Treasure brings rock and roll to the stage on Aug. 19; and Willie Playmore Band, a contemporary group, rounds out the concerts on Aug. 26.