The 30th annual Union Canal Days will take place at Union Canal Tunnel Park, 25th Street and Union Canal Drive, Lebanon. The event will run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 18, and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, May 19.
Narrated tours through the tunnel will be available. The event will feature exhibitors, vendors, a flower booth, carnival games, and giveaway drawings for baskets. Additionally, attendees may visit a Medieval re-enactment. Again this year will be a children's area with games, Pigvilla, and bounce houses.
The event will feature entertainment by the Cedar Crest Middle School band, the Lebanon Middle School Wind Ensemble, and the Steitz City Players on May 18 and Matt Dodd and The Haylofters on May 19. Picnic tables are set up throughout the park for those who wish to enjoy a meal.
Although boating of any kind is prohibited on the canal at all times, guided kayak tours will be offered during the morning on May 18 and 19. Separate costs have been set for renting single kayaks, renting tandem kayaks, and bringing one's own kayak. Children who are a minimum age of 6 may ride in a tandem with a parent or guardian; anyone age 9 or older may use a single kayak. Safety instruction and fitting will precede the tour and will not count toward the 30-minute rental time. Participants will enter the canal from the North Park off Tunnel Hill Road starting at the dock near the Mule Shed, paddle to and through the tunnel, and then return to the start point.
All kayak tour participants will be required to sign a liability waiver. Those under age 18 must be signed for and accompanied by a parent or guardian. All rentals will include a kayak, a paddle, a life jacket, an emergency whistle, a headlamp, a waterproof container, and instruction. For more information, readers may visit http://www.cocoakayak.com or call 717-756-5766.
The canal is known as the oldest existing transportation tunnel in the United States.
There is a nominal cost per car to attend Union Canal Days. For more information on this and other events, readers may search for "Union Canal Tunnel Park" on Facebook or visit http://www.lebanoncountyhistoricalsociety.org.
Leave a Review