Glass Barge, replica canal sailing boat will be in Holley on Tuesday

By Tom Rivers, Editor Posted 23 July 2018 at 11:49 am

Provided photo from Corning Museum of Glass: A barge with mobile glassmaking equipment will be in Holley for demonstrations on Tuesday.

HOLLEY – A barge with glassmaking equipment will stop in Holley on Tuesday as part of a summer-long tour along the Erie Canal.

The Corning Museum of Glass has a 2018 GlassBarge tour that is visiting Holley and Medina in Orleans County, as well as other canal towns in New York. The Glass barge will be at Holley’s Canal Park later today and will be open for demonstrations on Tuesday.

The Glass Barge will be in Medina, docking at Medina Canal Basin, on August 11-12.

In celebration of this pivotal journey, the Corning Museum is recreating the voyage with GlassBarge – a 30′ x 80′ canal barge equipped with Corning’s patented all-electric glassmaking equipment. In addition to sharing the story of glassmaking in Corning, the GlassBarge tour emphasizes the continued role of New York’s waterways in shaping the state’s industry, culture, and community.

GlassBarge begins it tour in Brooklyn on May 17 and will travel north on the Hudson River, then westward along the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo before making its way to the Finger Lakes. A ceremonial last leg of the trip will take place by land, concluding in Corning with a community-wide celebration on Sept. 22. (Besides stopping in Holley and Medina, GlassBarge will also be in Brockport from Aug. 17-19.)

File photo by Tom Rivers: The Lois McClure passes under the Main Street lift bridge in Albion in August 2013.

The barge will be joined by the Lois McClure, a replica of an 1862 canal barge, and the C.L. Churchill, a 1964 tugboat. They are both part of the permanent collection of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The museum will share the story of 19th-century canal life and how materials were shipped on New York’s waterways. On the Erie Canal, GlassBarge will be moved by an historic tug from the fleet of the South Street Seaport Museum, connecting upstate and downstate by water.

Holley officials feel very fortunate to be a stop on the GlassBarge tour, Mayor Brian Sorochty said today.

He urged people to visit the GlassBarge, the Lois McClure and the C.L. Churchill tugboat.

The Glass Barge will be available for free glass blowing demonstrations from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Those interested in seeing a demonstration (about 30 minutes in duration) are encouraged to register for a timeslot in advance (click here). The 11 a.m., 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. demonstrations are already full.

Limited additional seating is available for walk-up registration on the day of the event. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Holley will also be providing musical entertainment from 5 to 7 p.m. by Joe Fiannaca & Wayne Robertson as well as 50-cent hot dogs and free ice cream for children.

“I am very excited about this event and proud to have the opportunity to have it here in our community,” Sorochty said. “Please plan on attending this wonderful event.”

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