Camillus Erie Canal

Paint a Palm Tree!
2024-12-14 12:30 (America/New_York) | 5750 Devoe Road, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Winter is finally here, so what better time to bring some tropical sunshine to you?! Local artist Bev Owen, who hosted a very successful art class with us in November, is a talented artist & teacher. Choose from 2 time slots: 12:30 pm -OR- 2:00 pm. All materials will be provided. There is a $20 fee to be paid directly to Bev Owen. You must register in advance. Please reserve your space by emailing Lisa at Lwiles@townofcamillus.com or calling 680-800-5298.

The artist, the Reverend Beverly Owen, is a Reiki Master Teacher Practitioner/Artist who started sketching at an early age & continued through high school. She took a break for “life” & in 2010 began painting with Mural Mania, who has produced murals from Fairport to Syracuse, including our new mural. She is still working with Mural Mania as well as creating her own murals, private commissioned paintings and classes. Bev was one of the talented artists who created our boat mural this past Summer.

Wool Spinning 101
2024-12-07 12:00 - 16:00 | 5750 Devoe Road, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Join local wool spinner Linda Bishop Surbeck from 12 – 4 pm at Sims Store Museum as she shows how yarn was produced “back in the day”. The process of turning wool from a sheep (or goat or alpaca) into yarn which can be used to produce clothing is hundreds of years old. Learn how people from the Canal Era spun wool from our local artisan. This event is FREE!

Paint Your Own Snowman!
2024-11-30 12:30 | 5750 Devoe Road, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Get into the holiday spirit by painting your own snowman! Local artist Bev Owen was one of the talented people who painting the beautiful mural we added to the park this Summer & is teaching this class. The first time slot is 12:30 pm & is reserved for families (ex. 1 adult & 1 child creating 1 painting). The second time slot is 2pm & is reserved for adults. All materials will be provided. There is a $20 fee to be paid directly to Bev Owen. This will be fun & you will be amazed at what you can do! Please reserve your space by emailing Lisa at Lwiles@townofcamillus.com or calling 680-800-5298.

The artist, the Reverend Beverly Owen, is a Reiki Master Teacher Practitioner/Artist who started sketching at an early age & continued through high school. She took a break for “life” & in 2010 began painting with Mural Mania, who has produced murals from Fairport to Syracuse, including our new mural. She is still working with Mural Mania as well as creating her own murals, private commissioned paintings and classes.

Make Your Own Thankful Board with the Maxwell Library at Sims Store!
2024-11-23 12:00 - 14:00
Join us here at Sims Store with Ms. Jenny from the Maxwell Library to make your own Thanksgiving Tree Memo Board! Tis the season to remember what we are thankful for & this board can remind you! This craft is appropriate for all ages & is FREE! 12 noon – 2 pm at Sims Store

She's Back! Crazy Crow Arts
2024-11-16 12:00 - 16:00
Jean Hamel from Crazy Crow Arts had such a great time last week she’s back! Come view her work as part of our Saturdays at Sims Store. You may even find a few unique holiday gifts to purchase! Jean partnered with us last year to sell her hand-painted Christmas tree ornaments in our gift shop & they sold out! Now she will join us in person & will even be able to personalize if you prefer! Says Jean about her art, “I have been self-taught decorative artist for most of my life. When I retired, family & friends encouraged me to sell my artwork. So, I started ‘Crazy Crow Arts’ & sold my work at Arts and Crafts shows. My medium is acrylic paint which I use on a variety of surfaces from wood to canvas. Fall, winter & holidays are my favorites to paint.”

Jean is an active volunteer at the Port Byron Old Erie Heritage Park & we are thrilled to have her at Sims Store Saturday! This event is FREE!

Crazy Crow Arts at the Canal
2024-11-09 12:00 - 16:00 | 5750 Devoe Road, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Join local artist Jean Hamel of Crazy Crow Arts & view her work as part of our Saturdays at Sims Store. You may even find a few unique holiday gifts to purchase! Jean partnered with us last year to sell her hand-painted Christmas tree ornaments in our gift shop & they sold out! Now she will join us in person & will even be able to personalize if you prefer! Says Jean about her art, “I have been self-taught decorative artist for most of my life. When I retired, family & friends encouraged me to sell my artwork. So, I started ‘Crazy Crow Arts’ & sold my work at Arts and Crafts shows. My medium is acrylic paint which I use on a variety of surfaces from wood to canvas. Fall, winter & holidays are my favorites to paint.”

Jean is an active volunteer at the Port Byron Old Erie Heritage Park & we are thrilled to have her at Sims Store Saturday! This event is FREE!

Wildlife Photographer Jade Hemingway
2024-11-02 12:00 - 16:00 | 5750 Devoe Road, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Join us for Saturday Fun at Sims Store this Saturday & see the work of Jade Hemingway, Camillus wildlife photographer. Says Jade, “Hello, my name is Jade & I am a passionate wildlife & pet photographer. I am Australian & have been living in the US for almost 3 years. I’m dedicated to capturing the unique personalities & beauty of animals. I’ve been practicing photography since I could hold a camera, using my own experiences with a variety of pets, from dogs to rats, birds to fish, & everything in between. Along with that, I have spent a lot of time in incredible zoos such as Australia Zoo (Steve Irwin may ring a bell), allowing me to get up close & personal to the wilder species. Now I’m excited to share my journey as I step into the professional world, aiming to capture images that truly reflect the spirit of the animals I love, & invite people to bring that into their homes.”

Jade will have photographs on display & also for sale – the perfect holiday gift for your animal lover! This event is FREE!

Create a Halloween Finger Puppet
2024-10-26 12:00 - 14:00 | Liz & Dave Camillus Erie Canal Park, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031
Get into the Halloween spirit with Ms. Jenny from the Maxwell Library here at Sims Store by making your own felt Halloween Finger Puppets! These adorably creepy finger puppets are perfect for this spooky season! This event is FREE & good for all ages! No registration required.

Towpath Day 2024
2024-08-10 11:00 - 16:00 | 5750 Devoe Road, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Towpath Day 2024 is finally HERE! Join us for an affordable, fun, family-friendly event everyone will love! There will be 3 live bands playing throughout the day, vendors, boat rides, kids’ crafts, food, raffles, face painting & MORE! Park next door at the D.O.T. & take advantage of the FREE shuttle service back & forth to the Park! This year’s theme is “Thank You, Camillus”, as we appreciate our town! Proceeds from this event will benefit the Camillus Canal Society. See you there!

Cycle the Erie 2024
2024-07-10 12:00
Come help us welcome the 750 cyclists & staff riding their bikes from Buffalo to Albany this week! They will enjoy lunch here at the Park, with hot dogs & chips, drinks, boat tours & a “post office” so cyclists can send a post card from the halfway point of the Canal! If you would like to volunteer for this fun event, please email Lisa at Lwiles@townofcamillus.com for more information.

Ribbon Cutting...
2024-06-30 12:00
Something new is coming! Can you guess what it is? Come welcome our newest feature on June 30th at 12 noon for a ribbon cutting ceremony!

Opening Day of Boat Rides!
2024-05-05 13:00 - 15:00
Boat Season has begun here at the Park! Starting today (through early October) we will have public boat rides on Wednesdays and Sundays at 1, 2 and 3pm! Our 45 minute narrated boat ride is the MOST AFFORDABLE BOAT RIDE IN NYS and will take you over the only restored, rewatered and navigable aqueduct left from the First Enlargement of the Erie Canal. Tickets are $5 with a $15 maximum per nuclear family. (Parents and children -OR- Grandparents and grandchildren). See you on the Canal!

It's National Go Birding Day! Make A Yarn Bird!
2024-04-27 12:00 - 14:00
Did you know birds & bird watching helped to get our park started way back in the 1970’s? Join Jenny, Maxwell’s Director, at the Camillus Erie Canal Sims’ Store Museum to make a Yarn Bird. Today is National Go Birding Day, so this is a fun way to celebrate our feathery friends. Drop-in anytime between the two hours. All supplies provided. Good for all ages! This event is FREE, although donations are appreciated.

Trail Ambassador Information Meeting
2024-04-25 18:00 | Liz & Dave Beebe Camillus Erie Canal Park, 5750 Devoe Road, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Do you love Central New York as well as biking or hiking the Erie Canalway Trail and want to share that passion? You could be a perfect candidate for becoming a Trail Ambassador! This new program aims to make CNY more inviting to the thousands of cyclists and hikers who come through our region every year enjoying the Erie Canalway and Empire State Trail Systems. Trail Ambassadors assist and inform trail users, monitor trail conditions, promote trail courtesy, safety and awareness, and serve as local advocates for the Canalway’s trail systems. This program relies on volunteer Ambassadors to be out on the trail only a few times a week, with a very flexible schedule tailored to your needs. If you are interested in participating in this program, please join us for an informational meeting on April 25th at Sims Store at the Liz & Dave Beebe Erie Canal Park at 6PM. Please feel free to contact the Erie Canal Museum’s Educator, Derrick Pratt, at educator@eriecanalmuseum.org if you have questions or further questions.

From the Erie Canal to Niagara Falls, One Woman's Journey
2024-04-14 13:00 | Camillus Fire Department Community Room, 5801 Newport Road, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Join us for our final Snippets & Tales Winter Speakers Series with Captain Kaitlynn McHenry! Less than 8% of the boat or ship Captains in the World are women! Captain McHenry started her career captaining tour boats on the Erie Canal, and is the only woman ever in the 140 year history of the company to Captain the Maid of the Mist boats. Learn about her journey as well as the recent conversion of the Maid of the boats from traditional power to electric.

This event is FREE, but donations are gladly accepted. Refreshments will follow. The talk is at the Camillus Fire Department Community Room, upstairs.

Volunteer Orientation & Training
2024-04-06 10:00 - 14:00
For over 50 years our Park has been operated & maintained through an agreement with the Town of Camillus & the Camillus Canal Society. All maintenance & educational programming is because of volunteers. From gardening, to boat building, to museum docenting to cooking, if you can do it we need you!

10 am – 12 noon: Training for New Volunteers from 2023 & 2024 who have not completed training

12 noon: Lunch with new & established volunteers

12:30 pm: All Volunteers: Talk with Tina Thomas from the Onondaga Nation

The Beer-ie Canal Was A-Risin’: Brewing on the Erie Canal
2024-03-17 13:00 | Camillus Fire Department Community Room, 5801 Newport Road, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Join us for our March Snippets & Tales Winter Speaker Series with this historic look at BEER! The Erie Canal was a transformative waterway for various industries along its route, including brewing, which flourished from Albany to Buffalo. This discussion examines the Canal’s beer boom in the 19th century and its new one in the 21st. This program is FREE, but donations are appreciated. A coffee and cookie reception will follow the talk.

Our location is the Upper Level Community Room at the Camillus Fire Department, 5801 Newport Road.

Derrick Pratt is the Director of Education & Public Programming at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse, NY. A longtime resident of Chittenango, NY, Derrick received a B.A in Social Studies Education from SUNY Cortland and a M.A. in Museum Studies from Syracuse University. Prior to his job at the Erie Canal Museum, Derrick served as Director of Programs at Chittenango Landing Canal Boat Museum for 3 years.

Volunteer Awards Dinner
2024-03-10 16:00 - 19:00 | Camillus Elks Lodge, 117 Newport Road, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
Let us celebrate our fabulous Camillus Canal Society Volunteers, who keep this Park going, with our Annual Spaghetti Dinner and Awards Presentation! This year we return again to the Camillus Elks Lodge. Look for your invitation in your email or snail mail and please RSVP by March 3.

Crafting at the Canal with the Maxwell Library
2024-03-02 12:00 - 14:00
Join Maxwell’s Director, Jenny, at the Camillus Erie Canal Sims’ Store Museum to make an End of the Rainbow Felt Magnet, perfect for St. Patrick’s Day! Drop-in anytime between the two hours. All supplies provided. All ages. FREE!

The Lois McClure; Past, Present & Future
2024-02-18 13:00 - 14:30 | Camillus Fire Department, 5801 Newport Road, Camillus, New York, 13031, United States
In Fall, 2023 many of you followed the Canal Schooner the Lois McClure on her journey from Vermont down the Champlain Canal to the Erie Canal to the Cayuga Seneca Canal on her way to her permanent home in Port Byron. Learn from Craig Williams, President of the Canal Society of New York & Captain Dan Wiles, Director of the Old Erie Canal Park in Port Byron who lived on the ship as it traveled, about its past, present and plans for the future.

This talk, the 2nd of our Snippets & Tales Winter Speakers Series, is FREE, with a coffee & cookie reception to follow. Donations are accepted & appreciated.

Please join us at our new lecture location at the Camillus Fire Department, 5801 Newport Road, Camillus, Upper Level Community Room

Craft Time - Make a Sock Gnome!
2024-02-03 12:00 - 14:00 | Liz & Dave Camillus Erie Canal Park, 5750 Devoe Rd, Camillus, New York, 13031
The Maxwell Library returns to Sims Store for 2024 with craft time from 12 – 2pm. This time you can make your own sock gnome! This event is FREE and enjoyable by all ages! No registration is required.

The Canals of Britain by Dr. David Beebe
2024-01-21 13:00 - 15:00 | 5801 Newport Road, Camillus, New York
Join us for our 1st of our Winter Speakers Series, Snippets and Tales let by local Canal expert and author, Dr. David Beebe. Dr. Beebe will explore the Canals of England and Scotland, including the famous Falkirk Wheel. Learn what “legging” over three miles means as well as stories about multiple canals the Beebe’s visited. Dr. Beebe is the President of the Camillus Canal Society which for over 50 years has operated the Liz & Dave Beebe Camillus Erie Canal Park.

The talk is FREE, although donations are appreciated. A dessert/coffee reception will follow.

Our NEW location is at the Camillus Fire Department, 5801 Newport Road, Camillus, Upper Level in the Community Room. Ample parking is in the back of the building.

BACK by Popular Demand! Holiday Shopping Featuring Lori Mackessy's Stuffed Animals!
2023-12-16 12:00 - 16:00
If you missed local crafter Lori Mackessy & her incredibly stuffed animals, they were so popular we are having her back for your Holiday Shopping needs! Lori’s animals are handmade, soft, adorable & range in price from $18-36. Maybe puppy Fergus will make another appearance too!

Story Time & Craft with the Maxwell Library!
2023-12-09 13:30 - 14:30
Maxwell Library at the CanalStorytime and craft for children of all ages.Free. No registration required.Join Ms. Melissa, Youth Services Librarian at Maxwell Memorial Library, at the Camillus Erie Canal Sims’ Store Museum for a story time and craft. This drop-in program is a great way to enhance your family’s visit to the Camillus Erie Canal Park. For more information contact Lisa at #680-800-5298 or Lwiles@townofcamillus.com

Volunteer Holiday Party
2023-12-03 14:00 - 16:00
2023 was a great year because of you, our wonderful volunteers, so come and bring a dish to pass and we will celebrate! Beverages will be provided and immediate family members are welcome.

Please RSVP to Lisa at #680-800-5298 or Lwiles@townofcamillus.com

Holiday Shopping at Sims Store
2023-12-02 12:00 - 16:00
Shop from local crafters & get the perfect gift for those “hard to shop for” friends & family! Today we will highlight local crafter Lori Mackessy and her wonderful stuffed animals! She has some of the best made & cutest animals around at a very affordable price! Be sure to check out our gift shop for other local, very affordable gifts!

This event is FREE, although prices of items range from $5 – $36.

FREE Saturday Story Time
2023-11-25 13:00
Join local author Joni Lincoln as she reads her book, Maud the Erie House Dog, at 1pm and 2pm here at Sims Store. Maud was a real dog & major fixture at the Tavern in Port Byron which 100 years later would become the Old Erie Canal Heritage Park. Mrs. Lincoln will have autographed books for sale – the perfect Holiday gift for Canal and/or animal lover!

This event is FREE!

Saturday Fun at Sims Store!
2023-11-18 12:00 - 14:00
Maxwell Library at the CanalCraft for children of all ages.Free. No registration needed.Join Jenny, Director of Maxwell Memorial Library, at the Camillus Erie Canal Sims’ Store Museum to make a mallard duck felt hand puppet. This drop-in program is a great way to enhance your family’s visit to the Camillus Erie Canal Park. For more information contact Lisa at #680-800-5298 or Lwiles@townofcamillus.com

Tow Path Day
2023-08-12 11:00 - 16:00
Go back in time for this family-oriented event celebrating the Erie Canal right here in Camillus! Lots of entertainment, children’s activities, narrated boat rides, crafters, vendors, food and MORE!

FREE admission & FREE parking in the Department of Transportation parking lot – FREE shuttles to the Park!

Contact Lisa Wiles at Lwiles@TownofCamillus.com for vendor information & check out our Facebook page (Liz and Dave Beebe Camillus Erie Canal Park) for updates!

Cycle the Erie 2023
2023-07-12 11:00 - 16:00
Come cheer on over 700 cyclists who are traveling the entire length of the Erie Canal over a 6 day period, from Buffalo to Albany! They love coming to Camillus because we are the HALF-WAY STOP! Come welcome riders in, volunteer to help feed them, or in our unique Post Office where they can send a postcard home!

Please contact Lisa Wiles at Lwiles@townofcamillus.com or #680-800-5298 if you would like to help or attend this event!
