Worcester Magazine's Coverage of Canal Fest

Pretty well-written article in Worcester Magazine last Wednesday about the upcoming Canal Fest.  Doreen Manning goes into some of the things you can expect at this year’s canal fest, as well as interviews with festival chairpeople.

She speaks with people from the Blackstone Canal Task Force, and others who are interested in seeing the canal get built.  It really seems like this event is getting a lot of press and people are really looking forward to it.  It’s good to see people get excited about our city again, isn’t it?

Visit the article by clicking this link.

A little-known secret of Worcester is that there used to be a canal that connected Worcester, MA to Providence, RI.  This canal is now buried underneath underneath Harding st, but the hope of its return remains.  This article will go into detail as to what it used to be, what canal fest is, and why you should be there!

Some History on the Blackstone Canal

Taken from A Short Blackstone Canal History, BlackstoneCanal.org gives a great account as to what makes the Worcester Canal important and why people are talking about it in today’s markets.  In 1792, John Brown, a ship owner and entrepreneur, wanted to build a canal that spread all throughout New England.  He proposed this idea to the states of Rhode Island, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts.  The Boston-based Massachusetts State Legislature halted this project, citing that Boston would become obsolete with this free-trade agreement.

This canal gave birth to many entrepreneurial resources, as people were now able to ship goods easily up and down the canal.  Land around the canal gave people a place in the area to settle and these people built a downtown area around the canal in a city called Worcester, MA.  People started businesses and mills adjacent to the canal gave more jobs to the local people.

The creation of the Worcester/Providence Railroad marked the beginning of the end for the Worcester Canal.  It’s time to push to have the Worcester Canal rebuilt and bring that entrepreneurial spirit back to the heart of Worcester.

Canal Fest

On September 6, 2008, starting at 11:00AM and going until 6:00pm, the Worcester Canal District will be holding Canal Fest.  The Blackstone Canal opened Worcester to the sea.  On Harding Street, between Temple St and Winter St, will have a canal replica, 75 feet long!  This festival will have fun kids activities, food, entertainment, vendors, arts, crafts, and much much more.  There will be horse-drawn wagon tours of the neighborhood, food from local Canal District restaurants, musicians, dancers, and street performers! The best part of it all is that this festival is completely free!  Just bring your friends and family, and enjoy everything that the canal district has to offer!

The canal replica will hold 4,500 gallons of water, and will be reminiscent of when Worcester connected to Providence through this canal.  The old canal is now buried under Harding St, and there are many organizations that are looking to free the canal.  Freeing the canal and rebuilding it would help local businesses prosper and offer a fun atmosphere to the citizens of Worcester.