Holley added to GlassBarge tour this summer
Provided photo from Corning Museum of Glass: A barge with mobile glassmaking equipment will be in Holley on July 24 and then in Medina on Aug. 11-12.
HOLLEY – A barge with glassmaking equipment will stop in Holley on July 24 as part of a summer-long tour along the Erie Canal.
The Corning Museum of Glass announced last month that the 2018 GlassBarge tour will visit Medina, docking at Medina Canal Basin on August 11-12. But after some negotiations with Holley village officials, a second Orleans County stop was added.
Mayor Brian Sorochty said the barge will be in Holley at the Canal Park on July 24.
The tour is the 2018 signature event for the statewide celebration of the Erie Canal Bicentennial. The GlassBarge will offer free public glassmaking demonstrations at each scheduled stop during its four-month tour.
GlassBarge commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company – now known as Corning Incorporated – relocating to Corning via the New York Waterways by canal barge.
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.)
A flotilla of historic ships will accompany GlassBarge, including the Lois McClure, a replica of an 1862 canal barge, and the C.L. Churchill, a 1964 tugboat, 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.
GlassBarge will provide daily demonstrations. All demos are approximately 30 minutes long, and reservations are strongly encouraged through free timed tickets that will be available at www.cmog.org/GlassBarge. Reservations will open 4-6 weeks prior to each stop. Demos can also be viewed from shore without a reservation.
