Category Archives: Event

The Remarkable, Irresistible Erie

02 Friday Sep 2022

Posted by in Event, Folklore, Historic Assets, Mohawk Towpath, Telling the Byway Stories, tourism experience

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The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway proudly partner with Old Songs, Inc to bring this unique program to the Clifton Park Halfmoon Library on September 24 at 2 PM free admission.  This 90-minute musical concert, telling stories of the people, the places, and the history of the original and enlarged Erie Canal, Presented in song with narration.

The Concert features songs by folklorist and historian George Ward, Canadian Joe Grant, Dan Berggren & Jean Ritchie along with other traditional Erie songs.

Musicians and singers: George Wilson, fiddle, bass and banjo; Paul Draper, vintage mango; George Ward, concertina; Annie Rosen, ukulele; Jonny Rosen, guitar; Kate Blain, guitar; Alan Thompson, piano.

The program is produced and directed by our own Andy Spence.  Old Songs, Inc. can be reached at P O Box 466, Voorheesville, NY. 12186.  Their executive director is Joy Bennett joy@oldsongs.org

Join us at the Clifton Park Halfmoon Library Saturday, September 24 at 2 PM. The program is free and open to the public.

Bridged!

08 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by in Bringing Tourists to the Byway, Event, Mohawk Towpath, recreational assets

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The first half of the 100 foot pedestrian bridge arrived for installation at the site of a former farmers bridge just east of Clutes Dry Dock. The photo was captured by Larry Syzdek.

This is the crowning touch to improving recreational access to the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve. Construction including approach pathways, parking lot improvements, and soil stabilization will be complete by the end of October. Once complete the bridge will be opened for our (public) use.

We have once again bridged the historic 1842 enlarged Erie Canal. The farm fields to the right have long been abandoned and is now a remote forested “important birding area”. The Community Connector Trail behind trees to the right was (from 1842 to 1907) the towpath for the Erie Canal. the To the left is the site of a bustling canal community also abandoned in 1907 and now ripe for archaeological investigation and interpretation.

“…low bridge! Everybody down…”

To see a video of the action from fastening together to actual placement watch a video from the Town of Clifton Park’s FaceBook page.

Native American Traditions

25 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in Event, Telling the Byway Stories

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February is Story Telling month among the Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway!  For our February 13 meeting we have a guest speaker bringing Native American stories from the Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) tradition.  Stephanie Fox will provide us with stories and traditions from the eastern Mohawk Valley including the significance of the Cohoes Falls and some of the other natural features along the area we affectionately call the Mohawk Towpath Byway corridor.
Join us for what promises to be a very informative evening, Tuesday, February 13 at 7 PM at the historic Grooms Tavern.

Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy, Hiawatha Belt from Wikipedia

Flag of the Iroquois Confederacy, Hiawatha Belt from Wikipedia

Byway on the Move

21 Tuesday Nov 2017

Posted by in Bringing Tourists to the Byway, Event, Recreation, recreational assets

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2017Start

DUATHLON START – photo by Kristen Hislop

Thank you all for a most successful Mohawk Towpath Byway Duathlon!  Some 110 competitors started a 2 mile run followed by a 17 mile biking leg and another 2 mile run to finish.

I am no economist but this event brought in over $11,000 which was all spent locally [except $285 of Sanction and Insurance Fees to a National Governing Body in Colorado].  Every other dollar went to local suppliers, businesses, and contractors here on the Byway, or in the southern Saratoga County area.  That doesn’t include what competitors or their families spent for conveniences, gifts and remembrances, and fuel for the trip home.

During the week before the Duathlon the hits on the website peaked at four times the traffic we normally see for our Byway websites.  The calls to our cell phone based self-guided tour were overshadowed only by the number of calls over the first week of July when we were running spots on local public radio.

No matter how you slice or dice the numbers your help with the Duathlon pays us back many times over.  It reaches a demographic whom we don’t see any other time of the year, at least not in these numbers.

Whether you helped with circulating Byway information, stuffed envelops, helped with registration, volunteered with a traffic flag, scooped mashed potatoes and dished chicken, followed in the sweep car, passed out water, monitored the radio waves, or any other volunteer job… your contribution to the success of the Duathlon and ultimately to the Byway are very much appreciated!

Canal Fest

15 Saturday Jul 2017

Posted by in Event, Recreation, Telling the Byway Stories

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MabieCanalFest3Thanks to the Schenectady County Historical Society for the opportunity to participate in the Canal Fest at the Mabee Farm!  With over 500 cyclists coming through during the morning and the hundreds of people to the other attractions and activities during the day there was plenty of interest and excitement for a broad demographic.  Our booth’s placement just inside the the Dutch barn, with folk music nearby, local food venders. cooling breezes off the river we had plenty of curious, knowledgeable visitors and much interest in canals and the recreation venues around our area. Thanks also to Nancy Papish for these photographs and to her and Maryanne Mackey for help with the booth and visiting with “our public.”MabieCanalFest1

Fantastic

16 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Event, Mohawk Towpath, Recreation

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“Hi, I’m Rick Lage from Manotick, Ontario.  My wife and I come down every year to this race and you folks do such a great job!  It’s the only race we do in New York State and we love it!  All those out on the course and the great people, we come back every year!  Thank you.”  The words and the warm handshake left me speechless.

That’s the sort of feedback that warns my heart to the point that I have to share it with the Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway.  In deed, these people from a rural suburb of Ottawa have, for the last five years, made the event an international experience by driving four and a half hours to share what we have to offer.

With that I want to thank each and every one of you out volunteers for your help in making the Duathlon and the Mohawk Towpath Byway a success.

Over the next few days I will be crunching the numbers, collecting facts, and linking photographs for our sanctioning body, for the respective Boards of Directors, and for our own gratification.  But finishing the day with a safe race, happy competitors at the awards ceremony, and competitors and hosts sharing the post race feed… what could be more perfect?  Thank you, each of you.

Connecting

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Event, Mohawk Towpath, Recreation

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The Mohawk Towpath Byway had an information booth today at the Adirondack Sports and Fitness Health Fair for the Mohawk Hudson Marathon.  There were two types of people who visited the booth: long distance runners and friends or families accompanying them.  For the athletes we were trying to interest them in a fun recovery workout next Sunday morning, the Mohawk Towpath Byway Duathlon.

The other group consisted of family members or friends that are in-town with their favorite athlete and might be interested in discovering something new in the afternoon or later in the weekend.  We were trying to encourage them to discover something unique along the Byway corridor.  We provided them with a copy of our self guided cell phone based tour.

While I was doing a stint in the booth we got one registration for the Duathlon.  However, there also was a spike in on-line registrations today.  It will also be interesting to see if there are a spie in the number of calls to the cell phone tour number 518-649-9990.

I would like to thank Mary MacDonald of the Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway, Chris Brownell, who has, over the years, volunteered many hours, many times for the Byway, and Darryl Caron who has helped the Byway publicize some of our stories and events.  Each were an immense help with the booth and the Byway!
marathonstart

Good luck to all the runners in this great event along the Mohawk Towpath Byway corridor.

Apple Blossom Time Trial

09 Monday May 2016

Posted by in Event, Mohawk Towpath, Recreation, Uncategorized

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Pre-race lineup

The lineup for the pre-race meeting. Nice show of color!

We had a good turn out for the Apple Blossom Time Trial the day before Mother’s Day, 5 female and 10 male.  The event was a part of the Apple Blossom Festival a day long celebration of spring on the Byway.  The Festival is held at the Riverview Orchards.  In addition to events and activities normally available at the Orchard, Shenendehowa Rotary provided picnic fare at reasonable prices and a number of free fun activities for youth and families. The Friends of the Mohawk Towpath Byway cohosted.

The cycling time trial was the activity that wrapped up the day’s events with a 4 pm start.  The course was and out and back on Riverview Road going east from the orchard to a turn around just west of the Clifton Park – Halfmoon Town line.  All on public roads the first 3+ miles are rolling hills followed by almost 3 miles of flat through the hamlet of Vischer Ferry and along the northern border of the Vischer Ferry Nature and Historic Preserve.

Results:

Position Bib Number Last Name First Name Gender/Age Time

1

17

 Hackett John M 30-39 

26:22.6

2

7

 Huiest Robert M 30-39 

30:49.4

3

2

 Cooke Ron M 70-79

31:27.0

4

5

 Walling Mark M 20-29 

31:59.8

5

8

 Rosenberg Edward M 50-59

32:49.6

6

3

 Forgett Daniel M 30-39 

33:21.2

7

4

 Brennan Joseph M 50-59 

33:49.8

8

12

 Koziol Jill F 40-49 

34:57.2

9

18

 Bologna Catherine F 40-49 

35:52.9

10

9

 Ciolko Oksana F 60-69 

37:02.4

11

13

 Koziol Nate M 40-49 

40:25.2

12

10

 Ellis Robert M 50-59 

41:57.4

13

21

 Stilson Alicia F 30-39 

45:31.9

14

19

 Stilson Jason M 30-39

46:38.0

15

20

 Larned Shana F 30-39 

1:03:58

Obviously those who participated missed the Mastodon 15 k race in Cohoes.  The race director of the Apple Blossom Time Trial has done the 15 k previously and loved the course.  I goes through every park in the City including several stretches of the route of the 1842 Enlarged Erie Canal, the Mohawk Hudson Bikeway, and Cohoes High School Campus.  But the run is not for the faint of heart or those out of shape for a 9.3 mile run.