Independence Day Parade in honor of the Bicentennial of the construction of the Erie Canal:

It was on July 4, 1817 that the first spade of earth was turned at Rome, New York on the construction of one of the most important public works project in American history — the 362 mile Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo. The Canal connected New York harbor with the Great Lakes and spurred the growth of New York City into the nation’s largest metropolis. This year’s LMHA parade will celebrate this event with a parade starting at Federal Hall on Wall Street going down to Bowling Green/Evacuation Day Plaza and then to the South Street Seaport.

This activity will begin from the steps of Federal Hall on Saturday July 2, around 12:30 pm, as an Old Fashioned Independence Day Parade, similar to the parade sponsored by the LMHA in the past two years. It will begin with speeches from New York political leaders and a reading of excerpts from DeWitt Clinton’s 1815 New York Memorial by a DeWitt Clinton reenactor. It will then be led by the Veteran Corps of Artillery-State of New York, followed by the Color Guard of the Sons of the Revolution of the State of New York, the Sons of the American Revolution and various other patriotic groups, including the Colonial Dames of America. The Richmond County Fife & Drum Corps and other bands will also participate. There will be a further stop at Bowling Green/Evacuation Day Plaza for more speeches and entertainment and then will proceed to the South Street Seaport where the director of the South Street Seaport Museum will speak about the importance of the Canal to the Port of New York.