Little Falls Canal Festival
‘The Arrival of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief’
1825 – 2025 – Celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal
October 11, 2025 – Celebrating the arrival of the Seneca Chief in Little Falls at 11:30 am.
The Festival runs from Noon until 6 pm at Sterzinar Park in the City. Country Music Festival at Rock Valley Brewing goes from 2 pm until 11 pm.
This year (2025), the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will embark on its Bicentennial Voyage from Buffalo to New York Harbor, commemorating Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s 1825 inaugural journey. It will arrive in Little Falls on October 11, 2025, at approximately 11:30 am and tie up at Benton’s Landing in Canal Place until 5 pm.
BUG Country Remote from 11:30 am to 1:30 pm. The remote is a live broadcast playing BUG Country’s music and updates directly from the event. BUG Country DJ Laurie Britton will be live on site, promoting the day’s activities on the air directly from the event. Listen to our commercial on. BUG Country for the event!
Dignitaries will welcome the vessel with a few words from 12:00 – 12:30 pm, including City of Little Falls Mayor Deborah Kaufman, Assemblyman Robert Smullen, State Senator Mark Walczyk, and Tom Ryan. A proclamation will be read by Mayor Kaufman and presented to the Buffalo Seaport Museum.
If you would like to help sponsor the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief, they are accepting donations here.
While here, the City of Little Falls will host a one-day festival celebrating its arrival, featuring events throughout Canal Place and additional activities at the General Herkimer Home (details below).
Event Locations
Herkimer Home
The back side of the mansion gives you a view of the bike trail and the water. A wine and beer tent will be set up by the garden. Food trucks will be paired with beverages. The event is scheduled to start around 4 pm. The focus will also be on a bateau (canal boat from Mabee Farm). They will have music and an old wagon from the mansion, giving rides down to the water and the boat with candles lighting the way. There will also be pumpkin bowling.
Updated 09/09/2025: A guided historical tour (walk) will go from the Miracle Mile and a Half Marker on the Empire State Trail to the Herkimer Home (approximately two miles), starting at 3:00 p.m., carrying lanterns. If you are unable to walk, shuttle buses will transport people from Canal Place to the Herkimer Home and back between 3:30 and 6:30 p.m.
Benton’s Landing (Canal Place)
The Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief will tie up at approximately 11:30 am and remain until 5 p.m. Dignitaries will speak for approximately 30 minutes beginning at noon. A commemorative Eastern White Pine tree will be planted, and a sample of water from the canal in Little Falls will be added to a collection taken at each spot along the way.
At 1 pm, the crew will begin giving tours and descriptive audio presentations about how the boat was built, as well as other subjects, while answering any questions you may have. At 5 pm, the crew will prepare to move the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief to the Harbor, where it will remain until Sunday morning, when they plan to depart at approximately 9 am.
The Buffalo Maritime Center and Big Ditch Brewing Company have introduced Long Haul, the official beer of the 2025 Bicentennial Voyage of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief.
Long Haul is inspired by the epic “long hauls” of 19th-century Erie Canal travel — multi-day boat journeys spanning great distances across New York State. Long Haul is a honey lager brewed with 6-row barley, New York State hops, clover honey, and spruce tips —ingredients historically used in 1800s brewing.
This fall, when the Buffalo Maritime Center’s replica canal boat, the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief, embarks on its own commemorative long haul, Long Haul Honey Lager will be along for the ride, including their stop in Little Falls.
Sterzinar Park (Canal Place)
The BarRoom Neon Project will be onstage from noon until 2 p.m., and vendors will be in the park from noon until 6 p.m. The theme is ‘Harvest.’ If you are a vendor interested in participating, please complete
We will have a special guest speaker, Tom Ryan, on stage at 2 pm to speak about the canal, followed by a Q&A session with the Seneca Chief crew and builders until 3 pm.
If you are interested in volunteering for crowd control from the park to Benton’s landing, please email dave.warner@creativeoutpost.org.
Little Falls Historical Society
The Little Falls Historical Society, located at 319 South Ann Street, will have extended hours on October 11, 2025, from 9:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. or longer, if there are enough visitors. They have a permanent Little Falls waterways exhibit, which has been expanded to include an eight-panel display on the Erie Canal’s 200th anniversary. For more information, visit www.littlefallshistoricalsociety.org
Little Falls Harbor
Want to be on the water when the Seneca Chief arrives? The Little Falls Harbor will be open on that Saturday for Kayak rentals. It’s a great way to view the boat as it arrives in Little Falls and is tied up at Benton’s Landing. All kayaks must be returned to the harbor by 6 pm.
Rock Valley Brewing Company – Country Music Festival
Rock Valley Country Fest is BACK on October 11, 2025, and we’re turning Mill Street into a full-blown country party! 🌵🐎
The brewery will be open at noon for the arrival of the Seneca Chief, and wrist bands will be required starting at 1:30 for the concert.
🎤 LINEUP:
🎶 Tame the Rooster – 2 PM
🎶 Trigger Finger – 5 PM
🎶 Grit n Grace – 8 PM
Get ready for a day full of boot-stompin’ country hits from some of the best bands around!
📍 WHERE:
56 W. Mill Street, Little Falls, NY
⏰ WHEN:
Gates open at 2 PM – come early and stay late!
💲 ADMISSION:
Just $10 for all-day access to music, food, and fun!
🍔 + 🍺
Enjoy a variety of food trucks, craft beverages, and good ol’ fashioned country vibes all day long.
So dust off your boots, grab your crew, and come celebrate the sounds of the South right here in Upstate NY! 🤠
It’s gonna be a good time – we’ll see you there!
The Story
The Buffalo Maritime Center has built a traditional, full-sized replica of the Erie Canal Boat Seneca Chief, which initially opened the Erie Canal in 1825. The Erie Canal Boat Project has aimed to engage the community through hands-on experiences and historical exploration. This community boatbuilding effort, made possible by hundreds of volunteers, took place inside the Longshed at Canalside on Buffalo’s waterfront from October 2020 to June 2024.
This year (2025), the Seneca Chief will embark on its Bicentennial Voyage from Buffalo to New York Harbor, commemorating Gov. DeWitt Clinton’s 1825 inaugural journey. It will arrive in Little Falls on October 11, 2025, before noon and tie up at Benton’s Landing in Canal Place from noon until 5 pm.
The Erie Canal Boat is central to the canal’s history and the story of our state. While tied up in Little Falls, the crew will tell that story in a rich and inclusive way, opening up conversations about history and community.
One objective of the Erie Canal Boat Project is to collaborate with the community to teach and preserve traditional boatbuilding skills. Another goal is to inspire awareness and conversations about how the Erie Canal has affected people and places in New York State and across the country. Drawing inspiration from the boat’s name, the Seneca Chief, the Buffalo Maritime Center aims to provide a more comprehensive history of the Erie Canal, encompassing its cultural, environmental, and economic impacts.
Please continue to check this page for updates on the event. If you have questions, please call Dave Warner at 315-867-9039 or Cathy Cristman at 315-868-3248.
This event is funded in part with support from the NYS Canal Corporation and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
