By Jason Klaiber
Staff Writer
The Town of DeWitt brought out crowds of people on Aug. 3 for the 51st Annual Canal Day.
Recognized as the town’s longest-running event, Canal Day highlighted vendors, food trucks, information booths, games and musical entertainment at different spots on Butternut Drive and in Ryder Park.
“It’s obviously a family affair,” Town Councilor Kerin Rigney said. “Everybody loves it. It’s a good place to inform the population too.”
A balloon sculpture courtesy of Jeff the Magic Man welcomed attendees into the town hall.
Inside the courtroom, posters detailed the history of the women’s suffrage movement and family life on the Erie Canal.
Volunteers passed out brochures about the Carrier Park “Field of Dreams” and Challenger Baseball as well as hats, shirts, yard signs and koozies adorned with the park’s name.
With children’s books on display, the Community Library of DeWitt & Jamesville allowed kids to color with markers.
The library’s friends group, which supports programs at the branch, handed membership forms and newsletters to passersby while holding a raffle for a new backpack.
A volunteer representing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, which gifts books to children ages five and under, informed attendees about the program’s online book order system.
Girl Scouts of NYPENN Pathways set up a station to practice slingshotting and build bird feeders with pieces of cereal.
The organization codFISH, which helps transport ambulatory patients to their medical and dental appointments, raffled off gift baskets—one sports-oriented and one containing such items as fidget spinners, a stuffed animal and a roll of Play-Doh.
The DeWitt Police Department made identification cards for children and supervised a driving simulator.
Outside the building, the town’s fire department let kids climb in and pretend to operate a 1929 Sanford Cub fire truck.
Members of the DeWitt Advisory Conservation Commission (DACC) talked with attendees about local deer management and the solar farm being built between Fisher Road and Cedar Bay Park.
The DACC also crafted a scavenger hunt. Participants who observed their natural surroundings and answered specific questions could receive prizes such as kites and school supplies.
A representative of the retail company L.L.Bean ran a canopy complete with giveaways of single-use promotional coupons, outdoor guidebooks and keychains.
Volunteers from Helping Hounds handed out pamphlets relating to dog adoption, and a volunteer from Kumon encouraged students to sign up for sessions at the after-school network’s learning center.
Performers involved with Salt City Ukulele, a local community of ukulele enthusiasts, played songs throughout the late afternoon and early evening.
“It’s always fun to have a day for kids to run around, do stuff together, listen to music and be in a park outdoors,” Karen Kotlar, a Salt City Ukulele member, said.
Among the food trucks present were Cluck-N-Burger, Big Awesome BBQ and Skippy’s Ice Cream.
Other Canal Day activities included face painting, inflatable slides, a bounce house, pony rides, ring tosses and an educational presentation featuring live birds of prey put on by Page Wildlife Center.
A roving juggler on stilts made his rounds as well.
The day closed with music from Maria DeSantis & Orchestra and a firework display.
