Join author Mark Ferrara, Professor of English at State University of New York at Oneonta and author of The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal (Columbia University Press, 2024) to discuss his recent book and some of the stories of the people who lived and worked along the banks of the canal, emphasizing the forgotten role of the poor and working class in this epochal transformation.

Brian Keough, New York State Archivist will talk about and show examples of records documenting New York's canals from the earliest Erie Canal surveys to the completion and operation of the Barge Canal spanning 1794–1958 (bulk 1817–1926) and totaling over 2,560 cubic feet. These archival documents are part of the holdings of the New York State Archives and Records Administration, part of the Office of Cultural Education in the State Education Department.

Join Toss the Feathers for Musical Postcards from Irish Albany & Troy, a lively program of traditional Irish music, stories, and song that celebrates the remarkable history of the Irish people in the Upper Hudson Valley. Presented on the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal’s opening, this concert shines a spotlight on the thousands of Irish immigrants whose labor and spirit helped carve the Canal into existence. Through music, stories, songs, and slides that bring history to life, audiences will travel back to a time when Irish voices and fiddles echoed along the waterways of Albany and Troy.

Presented as part of New York State History Month and the Erie Canal Bicentennial, this special concert honors the enduring legacy of Irish culture and community in New York State.