Erie Canal officially opens for 200th season
WATERFORD, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- New York's historic Erie Canal is opening for its 200th year. Officials held the ceremonial opening in Waterford on Thursday.
To celebrate the canal's bicentennial, the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles will be offering a new Erie Canal license plate, select Stewart's Shops will offer a new Erie Canal ice cream, and the canal corridor will be hosting hundreds of community events, including a free, five-part concert series by the Albany Symphony Orchestra.
"The new ASO water music bicentennial concert series will tell the untold stories of the Erie Canal through the magic of music," NYS Canal Corp. Dir. Brian Stratton said. "The ASO will give a microphone to marginalized voices and help everyone to connect to the canal through arts, culture, and food."
The state has included $50 million in the budget to support the canal's infrastructure, like dams and water control structures, some of which date back to the 19th Century.
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