City of Tonawanda votes yes for Canal Fest
TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Canal Fest has been a staple at the border of North Tonawanda and the City of Tonawanda for decades, but questions remain on if the City of Tonawanda would be taking part in the festivities.
That question was answered Tuesday when the City of Tonawanda approved a one-year agreement with Canal Fest organizers.
“I’m excited because I get an opportunity to have 180,000 people come into our community and to see what we have to offer,” said City of Tonawanda Mayor John L. White.
“It’s a great time where both Tonawanda’s can come together. Western New York comes together along the canal,” added North Tonawanda Mayor Austin Tylec.
Three of the Council`s five members voted in favor of the one-year agreement.
With it, Canal Fest organizers will reimburse the city $37,000, $2,000 of which will be used for improvements to the Canal Street Pavilion.
Mayor White says the reason it wasn’t approved sooner was due to concerns from his city council on financing, and security and how many of the attractions were on their side of the canal.
“We’ve had the rides and the games of chance for the last 39 out of 40 years. So, where are the kids going to hang out? Where the rides are and where the games of chance are. So, with half of the rides going back to North Tonawanda it makes our footprint a little bit smaller, so I’m hoping that makes a big difference moving forward,” added Mayor White.
This year’s festival will incorporate changes like rides being placed in North Tonawanda along with keeping the Renaissance Bridge open until the morning of the first day for better traffic flow.
North Tonawanda also agreed to a contract with the festival, theirs however runs three years until 2026.
Mayor Tylec echoed the importance of added security for this year and beyond.
“We take it very seriously. We will have undercover police officers we have our SWAT mobilized in a worst-case scenario so we should be all set on our end,” claimed Tylec.
Local organizations and neighbors News 4 spoke with Tuesday say keeping the fest in the city was the best choice.
“It not only brings and helps to bring in tax dollars on an annual basis, but in addition to that, many of the nonprofit organizations in both the city of Tonawanda and North Tonawanda depend on Canal Fest,” said Raymond Schultz.
“This is one of our main events. So, we can raise funds and we can help people in our communities,” concluded Bob Starr, president of the Erie Canal Gateway Lions Club.
The 41st Canal Fest is set to take place this summer beginning July 14-21.
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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.
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