Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief Bicentennial Voyage Departure

Buffalo Maritime Center’s Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief departs Buffalo, NY, launching the statewide Bicentennial Voyage that invites the public to commemorate the Erie Canal’s enduring legacy. Beginning at 8:30 AM, the public is invited to gather at the Commercial Slip to hear remarks from state and local dignitaries, partners, and friends, then cheer the sendoff and be part of this historic moment as the journey begins.

This all-ages event is non-ticketed and free to the public. This event will take place rain or shine.

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When the Seneca Chief reaches a port along the Erie Canal, the public can experience free, family-friendly activities that bring canal history to life. While docked, the vessel becomes a floating museum that allows you to step aboard to explore recreated cabins, view historical artifacts, and engage with interactive exhibits that illuminate the canal’s cultural, economic, and environmental significance - including the contributions of Indigenous communities. On shore, Buffalo Maritime Center will host special events, educational programs, and hands-on wooden boatbuilding activities for all ages.

Each stop will feature meaningful ceremonies with local dignitaries and community members that embody both commemoration and remembrance. To honor the Haudenosaunee and promote sustainability, Eastern White Pine trees - the Great Tree of Peace - will be planted along the route. In a modern echo of the 1825 “Wedding of the Waters” tradition, each community will add local canal water to a traveling cask aboard the Seneca Chief; that water will be used to nurture the final tree in New York City, symbolically uniting our state.