The Corning Museum of Glass GlassBarge to float into town this summer

The Corning Museum of Glass (CMoG) and Visit Syracuse today announced that the 2018 GlassBarge tour will visit Baldwinsville on July 13-15. As the 2018 signature event for the statewide celebration of the Erie Canal Bicentennial, GlassBarge will offer free public glassmaking demonstrations at each scheduled stop during its four-month tour.

GlassBarge commemorates the 150th anniversary of the Brooklyn Flint Glass Company—now known as Corning Incorporated—relocating to Corning via the New York Waterways by canal barge. In celebration of this pivotal journey, CMoG is recreating the voyage with GlassBarge—a 30’ x 80’ canal barge equipped with CMoG’s patented all-electric glassmaking equipment. In addition to sharing the story of glassmaking in Corning, the GlassBarge tour emphasizes the continued role of New York’s waterways in shaping the state’s industry, culture, and community.

GlassBarge begins it tour in Brooklyn on May 17 and will travel north on the Hudson River, then westward along the Erie Canal from Albany to Buffalo before making its way to the Finger Lakes. A ceremonial last leg of the trip will take place by land, concluding in Corning with a community-wide celebration on September 22.

“We are excited to bring the GlassBarge to our community on its journey across the Erie Canal, this is a great way to commemorate both the Erie Canal Bicentennial and the 150th anniversary of Corning Incorporated,” said Danny Liedka, the president and CEO of Visit Syracuse. “Our historically rich waterways will come alive with the GlassBarge tour and offer a way for the community to celebrate.”

“We are thrilled to partner with Visit Syracuse to bring to life the historic waterway in their community,” said Rob Cassetti, senior director, creative strategy and audience engagement at CMoG. “The Corning Museum of Glass has taken mobile glassmaking around the world, and we can’t wait to share the beauty of this endlessly versatile material with our closest neighbors across New York State.”

A flotilla of historic ships will accompany GlassBarge, including: the Lois McClure, a replica of an 1862 canal barge, and the C.L. Churchill, a 1964 tugboat, both part of the permanent collection of the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum. The museum will share the story of 19th-century canal life and how materials were shipped on New York’s waterways. On the Erie Canal, GlassBarge will be moved by an historic tug from the fleet of the South Street Seaport Museum, connecting upstate and downstate by water.

Ticketing and Additional Information
GlassBarge will provide daily demonstrations from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. from July 13-15 in Baldwinsville. All demos are approximately 30 minutes long, and reservations are strongly encouraged through free timed tickets that will be available at www.cmog.org/GlassBarge. Reservations will open 4-6 weeks prior to each stop. Demos can also be viewed from shore without a reservation.
The Lake Champlain Maritime Museum will invite people aboard the Lois McClure to learn about life on board a canal barge in the 19th century. Tours are first come, first served and do not require registration.

The GlassBarge journey will also be celebrated back in Corning with a re-installation of the Crystal City Gallery, which will share the story of how Corning became one of the premier centers for glass cutting in the United States.

GlassBarge is enabled through the generous support of grants from I LOVE NEW YORK, Empire State Development’s Division of Tourism; the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA); and the New York State Canal Corporation through Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Council initiative.

GlassBarge Weekend Schedule
May 17-28: Brooklyn Bridge Park
June 1-3: Yonkers
June 8-10: Poughkeepsie
June 15-17: Kingston
June 21-24: Albany/Troy/Waterford
June 30-July 1: Little Falls
July 7-8: Sylvan Beach
July 13-15: Baldwinsville
July 20-22: Fairport
July 28-29: Lockport
August 3-5: Buffalo
August 11-12: Medina
August 17-19: Brockport
August 24-26: Pittsford
September 1-3: Seneca Falls
September 14-16: Watkins Glen
September 22: Corning

About the Corning Museum of Glass
The Corning Museum of Glass is the foremost authority on the art, history, science, and design of glass. It is home to the world’s most important collection of glass, including the finest examples of glassmaking spanning 3,500 years. Live glassblowing demonstrations (offered at the Museum, on the road, and on the water) bring the material to life. Daily Make Your Own Glass experiences at the Museum enable visitors to create work in a state-of-the-art glassmaking studio. The campus in Corning includes a year-round glassmaking school—The Studio—and the Rakow Research Library, with the world’s preeminent collection of materials on the art and history of glass. Located in the heart of the Finger Lakes Wine Country of New York State, the Museum is open daily, year-round. Children and teens, 17 and under, receive free admission.

For more information contact Kim Thompson at 607-438-5219ThompsonKA@cmog.org or visit www.cmog.org/press-center.

Join the conversation with #GlassBarge
Instagram: @GlassBarge | Twitter: @CorningMuseum | Facebook: The Corning Museum of Glass

By martha

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