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General News: River Day on the Hudson
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| The Half Moon ship. (Photo by Tom Doyle.) |
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| The Onrust replica ship |
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| The Clearwater Sloop will all be part of the grand flotilla Sunday afternoon. |
June 02, 2009
When Henry Hudson sailed into Cornwall Bay 400 years ago, he emerged from the narrow straits of the Hudson Highlands into an expanse of river that drew him further north. Native Americans lived along the river in settlements close to nature but as far as the eye could see there was open wilderness.
This Sunday, people will gather on the banks of the Hudson River to remember the early history of the area, the voyage of Hudson and the steamboat invented by Robert Fulton 200 years later that revolutionized trade and travel on the waterway.
In Donahue Memorial Park on Cornwall Landing, the day kicks off with environmental activities for children and a chance for them to build a wearable boat with recycled materials. At noon, visitors can listen to village historian Colette Fulton and others talk about the history and development of Cornwall’s shores. Exhibits will feature the voyage of Hudson and the work of Robert Fulton, as well as the story of the O&W Railroad that dominated Cornwall Landing a century ago.
Cornwall-on-Hudson mayor Joseph Gross will be on hand during the noon ceremony for the dedication of a boulder recognizing the successful effort by environmentalists to protect Storm King Mountain from a hydroelectric project.
At 2:30 p.m., the music strikes up, with local folk singer Lydia Adams Davis and Kathy Byers presenting a program of river ballads and colonial tunes followed by the Riverbank Banjo band, who will strum up a storm.
The highlight of this community day is the arrival of the flotilla of boats around 5 p.m. No one will want to miss this historic scene with the replica of the Half Moon Ship, the Onrust, the Clearwater, the Mystic Whaler, the John J. Harvey Fireboat, and dozens of smaller crafts in this grand parade. The boats will be docking for the night in Newburgh and in Beacon, where local activities also will be going on all day.
In Newburgh, visitors are invited to stroll the River Art Walk or visit Washington’s headquarters for a special presentation on a Hudson Highlands author, William Thompson, on Sunday afternoon. You can take one of the free trolleys that will be operating or, if you’ve got a motorcycle, you can join the Orange County Choppers as they ride to the waterfront. The historic boats will be open to the public all day on Monday as well, so be sure to find someway to create a memory of this once-in-a-lifetime celebration of Henry Hudson’s voyage through this land.
Comments:
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The Orange County Amateur Radio Club will be operating a Special Event Station using the call sign W2HO from the gazabo starting at 9:00AM.
posted by Andrew Maroney on 06/02/09 at 9:34 PM
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