08.12 Blackstone Canalfest 2012

That delicious time when the lines between late summer and the beginning of fall are blurred is the perfect time for outdoor festivals, and on Saturday, September 8, right on Harding Street at Kelley Square (directly accessible from Rte. I-290) in Worcester’s Canal District, is one of the best around ~ and it’s free!

The seventh annual Blackstone Canalfest will once again be a classic street festival complete with music, entertainment, vendors, food, an abundance of kids’ activities, horse-and-wagon rides, kayak rides, historic as well as current canal project information, a gigantic raffle and much, much more. At the center of the festival will be an actual re-created segment of the canal, 75 feet long and filled with over 4,500 gallons of water, recalling the era when it served as a cargo waterway to the sea. The Blackstone Canal connected the City of Worcester to Providence and the sea in the first part of the 19^th century, catalyzing economic growth in the city and hastening the advent of the railroads. It was covered over in the 1890s, but its waters still flow underneath Harding Street. The intent of the canal replication project is to use the “unearthed” canal as the focus of a new, mixed-use neighborhood and visitor destination in what is once again referred to as the Canal District.

Canalfest 2012 serves two purposes. All who attend and are involved will be celebrating the renaissance that is occurring in the district and promoting public awareness of the Blackstone Canal Replication Project itself. Food vendors will be drawn from the wealth of local restaurants, entertainment will reflect the multi-ethnic heritage of the district, and information booths will promote the historical theme of the canal.

More importantly, though, Canalfest offers good, clean family fun; with street performers, lots of children’s activities, horse-and-wagon rides, and food and entertainment galore, it’s going to be a blast. It will give participants of all ages a taste of the vitality that characterizes Worcester’s most exciting entertainment district. Free, festive, and fun ~ you can’t beat that!

In addition to abundant street parking, there will be parking available for $1 at the Union Station Parking Garage.