Lock 16 Center

Throughout the months of September & October school groups may rent the boat for a private ride at the special rate of $300!  The LaSalle Canal Boat can accommodate 70 people.  If your group is interested in visiting without renting the entire boat group fares for students are $7 per person.  One teacher rides free per every 20 students.  Chaperone fares for school groups are $11 per person (groups over 20) or $13 per person (groups under 20).  Reservations for groups over 20 are required at least 2 weeks in advance, and reservations for any ride on the boat are always suggested.

A field trip to the LaSalle Canal Boat and Lock 16 Visitor Center is a fun and engaging way for students to learn about a host of themes: U.S. transportation, westward expansion, technological innovation, immigration, urbanization and more. Tours cover a variety of social science and history topics that meet the Illinois State Board of Education’s Learning Standards.  A Lasalle Canal Boat tour includes a 15 min Mule Tending 101 Class where students will learn how the mules that pull the canal boat are cared for and a 60 minute ride on the LaSalle Canal Boat with crew dressed in period clothing and a guide.

The Lock 16 gift shop will have a booth at the French Country Market in Morris, IL on Aug 14 8AM-2PM, Sept 11 5PM-10PM, and Oct 9 8AM-2PM.  Items being featured at the Lock 16 gift booth range from home decor to wonderful gardening items such as twig plant stands, birdhouses, and garden stakes!  This is a great open air market which promotes selling antiques, hand crafted items, fresh produce, baked goods, etc. from businesses located in towns along the I&M Canal.  Be sure to stop by and visit us!  For additional info http://www.3frenchhensmarket.blogspot.com/ Directions-Exit I80, south on Rt 47, west on IL Ave, 3 blocks to Canal Port Park

So what are you doing this weekend?

Wava and Ana will be in Morris at the 3 French Hens Market from 8-2 at Canal Port Park (3 blocks west of Rt 47 on West Illinois Ave) selling some goodies! You can buy some boat tickets there and get a discount!!

We are starting to get a lot of our holiday stuff in! Which means in a few weeks we will have a gift shop overhaul! So if you were looking at any of our Summer and Garden items you better get them while they are still here! Mention the blog and get 10% off! I’ll have a post up soon showing some of our great new stuff, especially the Halloween and Christmas items.

Also, check out the Management Plan blog at http://iandmcanal.wordpress.com/
They are having a pie give-a-way! You can enter to win one of our great pies!

If you can’t make it to Morris, stop in and see us at Lock 16! Hope to see you soon!
-Patti

Thursday July 1, 2010 2PM

Celebrate the 4th of July with your best pals at our All American Afternoon Apron Tea at the Lock 16 Center.  It’s all about the aprons at this tea!  Feel free to wear an apron, bring an apron, or tell a story about an apron!  Enjoy an afternoon tea of scones with Devonshire Cream and jam, tea sandwiches, sweets, and a variety of hot or cold teas.

$19.50 per person
Reservations are required
Please call 815-223-1851

This summer we are offering Kids Birthday Packages at Lock 16 Visitor Center and Canal Boat.

Call (815)220.1848 for more information and a detailed itinerary.

Captain’s Birthday

Enjoy a boat ride with you and your friends as the crew of a canal boat.  The birthday girl/boy will be the honorary captain for the day and will be assisted by friends (deckhands) manning the boat.  The day will begin by joining Larry and Moe’s fan club and helping to care for our mules along with Curly the goat in a Mule Tending Lesson.   The crew will then load the canal boat for an hour long tour down the Illinois and Michigan Canal with various photo opportunities.  Other adventurous activities will include a scavenger hunt with prizes.  After a hard day’s work on the canal, the captain and crew can enjoy lunch and treats from the Children’s Birthday Menu.

Approximately 3 ½ hours. $19.95/person

Just Me and My Friends Birthday Tea

Bring your girlfriends and invite their dolls too, for a lovely afternoon of tea.  The young ladies will begin their day by adorning themselves with hats, gloves, and jewelry. Once properly dressed and ready for the luncheon, guests will dine from the Child’s Tea Menu and learn the importance of etiquette.   After a wonderful meal, girls, and their dolls too, will make a passage down the Illinois and Michigan Canal and enjoy a journey being catered to by our captain and crew.  When a safe travel is complete, crafts and games will occur in the visitor center.  For dessert, each girl will decorate a cupcake and enjoy other treats while celebrating.

Approximately 2 ½ hours. $19.95/person

Join us for the 173^rd birthday of the most famous mule driver on the I & M Canal, Wild Bill Hickok.  Celebrate Wild Bill Hickok Day May 27 with the Lock 16 Center!  Come to the Center at 754 First Street LaSalle to hear local historian Steve Dancey speak about the life and history of Wild Bill Hickok.  In the first recorded fight of his long career, Bill tangled with a bully named Charles Hudson.  During their fight both tumbled into the canal, and at first Bill mistakenly thought he had killed his opponent.  Soon after he headed west, where he gained fame as a lawman and a gunslinger.  The presentation will be held 5:30PM-6:30PM and is free of charge.  Lock 16 Café will be open until 8pm if you want to get a bite before or after the lecture.

Take a ride on the I & M Canal on the LaSalle Canal Boat in honor of Wild Bill’s birthday May 27.  Experience a one-hour round trip journey on a replica 1848 canal boat with crew dressed in period clothing.  Also meet our mules, Moe and Larry, and learn about their lives working on the I & M Canal.  Reservations Strongly Suggested. Adult $13, Seniors $11, Youth $7, Kids 3 or under Free.  Call 815-223-1851 for more information.

Canal Corridor Association (www.canalcor.org) preserves history, protects nature and open space, and creates destinations where people can learn and have fun along the I&M Canal, from Chicago to LaSalle/Peru.  It enhances, raises awareness of and expands the parks, trails, landscapes and historic sites that make the I&M Canal region a special place.  CCA manages the Lock 16 Visitor Center and owns the LaSalle CB.  More information can be found at www.lasallecanalboat.org.

Yesterday, May 6, 2010 was the Illinois History Expo in Springfield.  The Canal Corridor Association president Ana Koval judged this year’s projects related to the Illinois & Michigan Canal.  This year’s national theme was Innovation in History: Impact and Change.

Established in 1998 to celebrate the canal’s sesquicentennial, the I&M Canal Awards offer cash prizes to outstanding history expo projects in the Junior and Senior Divisions at the Illinois History Expo.  Research papers, exhibits, models, performance and media projects are eligible.

To be considered for an I&M Canal Award, a history expo project may:

-focus on the life and work of individuals associated with the I&M Canal

-explore the influence of the Canal on a specific community, industry or business

-examine the construction, working or rehabilitation of the canal

-study and compare the I&M Canal and its successor waterways or tackle other topics that illuminate the I&M Canal’s impact

Entries that explore the early and more contemporary history and themes of the I&M Canal are also welcome.  This year’s winners were each presented with a certificate, a $50 check, and a gift certificate for four tickets on the LaSalle Canal Boat.

The 2010 I&M Canal Award winners are:

Junior Division, Exhibit:

Yanitza Roman of Chicago, Illinois for her project titled “The Illinois & Michigan Canal: The Missing Link”

Junior Division, Media:

Alysa Marie Cox of Lincoln, Illinois for her project titled “How did the Illinois & Michigan Canal help shape Illinois as we know it today”

Congratulations!!!!!

A field trip to the LaSalle Canal Boat and Lock 16 Visitor Center is a fun and engaging way for students to learn about a host of themes: U.S. transportation, westward expansion, technological innovation, immigration, urbanization and more. Tours cover a variety of social science and history topics that meet the Illinois State Board of Education’s Learning Standards.  A Lasalle Canal Boat tour includes a 20 min Mule Tending 101 Class where students will learn how the mules that pull the canal boat are cared for and a 60 minute ride on the LaSalle Canal Boat with crew dressed in period clothing and a guide.  Additional activities can also be arranged such as a guest lecture about local history, viewing the Prairie Tides Film about the history of the I&M Canal, or a Silhouette walk which depicts 13 real people who were associated with the I&M Canal.

Throughout the month of May school groups may rent the boat for a private ride at the special rate of $300!  The LaSalle Canal Boat can accommodate 70 people.  If your group is interested in visiting without renting the entire boat group fares for students are $7 per person.  One teacher rides free per every 20 students.  Chaperone fares for school groups are $11 per person (groups over 20) or $13 per person (groups under 20).  Reservations for groups over 20 are required at least 2 weeks in advance, and reservations for any ride on the boat are always suggested.

There are also lunch options available for school groups of 20 or more (less than 20 may order off the cafe menu).  Our cafe can prepare either a lunch box option which includes a sandwich, chips, cookie, and beverage or a hot option which includes your choice of Mac n Cheese, Dinosaur Chicken Nuggets, or Pig n a Blanket and fresh fruit and a beverage.  Both options cost $6.50.  Groups can eat at the shelter at Lock 14 or may dine in our Visitor Center.  To arrange a lunch option we will need to know two weeks ahead of time.  Groups are always welcome to bring their own lunches and eat outside at the shelter. 

Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln Silhouettes along the Silhouette walk at Lock 14!

Good Morning!  We got in some GREAT new inventory this week!

Come check out all of our new box signs!

The last one is my personal favorite!! I HAD to buy it – it is hanging in my living room already!

Stop in and check out the rest of the signs!

-Patti

(are you on the e-news list yet? e-mail pcannon@canalcor.org to sign up!)

Grab your walking shoes. Or get out your bike. And join the fun at the I&M Canal Walk or Ride on Saturday, May 1.

The I&M Canal Walk or Ride is a special event organized by the nonprofit Canal Corridor Association to raise funds to enhance the trails and other attractions in the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor.

“This is a great way to enjoy the scenery and charm of the I&M Canal while raising funds for a good cause,” said Ana Koval, president and CEO of Canal Corridor Association. “It’s also a chance to meet and greet your friends and neighbors while enjoying the outdoors on a spring morning.”

The non-competitive Walk or Ride begins at 8 am and ends at noon in Canalport Park, Morris, Illinois. Choose from a 1- to 5-mile walk or a 10- to 25-mile bike ride. Walkers will head west on the I&M Canal State Trail; bicyclists will ride east. All will meet back at the park to celebrate afterwards with music and refreshments. Raffle prizes will be awarded.

It’s easy to join the fun. Just go to the Canal Corridor Association website, www.lasallecanalboat.org (under events), to sign up. Registration is $20 per person for adults and $10 per person for children under 12. Why not invite your friends, family and colleagues and form a team?

Volunteers are welcome, too. You can help with setup before the event and/or with a variety of day-of-event activities, including registration, distributing water on the trail to walkers and riders, goodie bag distribution and more. Call 815-223-1851 to volunteer.

Businesses are invited to support the cause – while getting some visibility in front of an anticipated 200 participants – by sponsoring the I&M Canal Walk or Ride. Choose from several sponsorship packages. Call 815-220-1848 to become an event sponsor.

A spring morning… Friends and family…  A historic waterway … Come celebrate the I&M Canal!

Event details:

What: I&M Canal Walk or Ride

When: Saturday, May 1

Volunteer check-in:                  7:30-8:00 am

Registration:                             8:00-9:00 am

Bikers Start:                               8:30 am

Walkers Start:                            9:00 am

Celebration & refreshments      11:00 am – noon

Where: Canalport Park, adjacent to downtown Morris, three blocks west of IL-47.

(Exit I-80 at Morris, take IL-47 south to Illinois Avenue, turn right, 3 blocks to park)

Who: Hosted by and benefiting Canal Corridor Association.

Why: To raise funds to enhance the trails and other attractions along the I&M Canal

National Heritage Corridor

Info: www.lasallecanalboat.org or 815-223-1851

Canal Corridor Association (CCA) is a 28-year-old nonprofit membership organization that preserves history, protects nature and open space, and creates destinations for learning and fun along the I&M Canal, from Chicago to LaSalle/Peru, Illinois. It enhances, raises awareness of and expands the parks, trails, landscape and historic sites that make the I&M Canal region a special place. CCA is the local coordinating agency for the I&M Canal National Heritage Corridor and owns and manages the LaSalle Canal Boat and the Lock 16 Visitor Center in LaSalle. Learn more at www.canalcor.org or www.lasallecanalboat.org