SACKETS HARBOR — "We're celebrating our friendship with Canada," said Cheryl M. Payne, president of the Sackets Harbor Chamber of Commerce and marketing director for its Canadian-American Festival Committee.
The 37th annual Can-Am Festival will kick off with opening ceremonies at 6 p.m. Friday at Market Square Park.
Canadian entertainers, dignitaries and even a baseball team will make appearances throughout the festival.
The Coast Guard's 47-foot Motor Lifeboat is scheduled to arrive at 10 a.m. Saturday. At 11 a.m., following the arrival of the Coast Guard boat, a 70-unit parade will travel along West Main Street. The parade, one of the largest in the north country, will last about two hours, said Ms. Payne.
A different kind of parade will follow in the harbor near Market Square Park at 1 p.m. The nautical procession, new to the Can-Am Festival, will be a blessing of the vessels. Four Coast Guard boats will lead a line of sailboats, motorboats and even kayaks to receive a blessing from the Rev. Jerome B. Wichelns, rector of Christ Episcopal Church.
"For the people on the boats, it's a religious experience. For the people on the shore, it's more like a boat parade," said John W. Maxon, Fayetteville, a summer resident of Sackets Harbor, who organized the blessing of the vessels.
Mr. Maxon anticipates that the first year's "boat parade" will be simple, but he hopes that the event will continue and grow so that a number of communities can get involved. He already has extended an invitation to several Canadian yacht clubs and looks forward to seeing vessels from Ontario at the blessing.
"It's something a little different," said Mr. Maxon. "It also gives people at various locations an opportunity to meet other people who have boats."
Boaters can sign up for the blessing and boat parade by inquiring at the Sackets Harbor Yacht Club.
In addition to the parades, there will be numerous events throughout the day Saturday.
A kite fest will run from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Sackets Harbor Battlefield State Historic Site, a New York State Living Zoo display will be up from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the post office, craft fair vendors will be on the Visitor's Center lawn from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Willie & Company will perform from 3 to 4 p.m. at Market Square Park and historical street performers will be at Market Square Park at 2 p.m. and the Pickering Beach Museum at 3 p.m.
The blues band Generations will play at West Main and Ambrose streets from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m., and Fred and the Eds will play at Market Square Park from 6 to 9:30 p.m. The day will conclude with a fireworks display at dusk in the battlefield.
On Sunday, the Sackets Harbor Ontarios vintage baseball team will play a double-header, first against the Kingston St. Lawrence Baseball Club at 11 a.m., then against Rochester's Best Nine at 1 p.m. Both games will take place in Washington Park, on Dodge Avenue.
The Ontarios have played baseball according to the 1874 rules for the past seven years at the Can-Am Festival. According to this style of "vintage" baseball, players do not use gloves or protective gear. The batter is called a "striker," the pitcher a "hurler" and the catcher a "behind."
The Can-Am baseball game includes old-fashioned newsboys, newspapers and even an exhibit of old-time baseball pictures and gear.
Also on Sunday, the Zipper will arrive from the Antique Boat Museum, Clayton, and will offer free rides all day. The Merry-Go-Round Youth Theatre Company from Auburn will perform "The Emperor's New Clothes" at 2 p.m. at Market Square Park.
The Can-Am Festival will continue until 5 p.m. on Sunday and include a special concert on the waterfront featuring the Ontario band Tanglefoot.
For more information or a complete schedule, visit the Web site www.canamfestival.com or call the Can-Am Committee at 646-2321.
