Rare boats from the Antique Boat Museum and the Finger Lakes Boating Museum will be among those featured at the 40th annual Antique and Classic Boat Show July 27-29.
Hours are 3 p.m. to dusk Friday, 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday in Clift Park. Admission is free.
More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the show, one of the most popular in the Northeast.
Among the 80 or so boats on display will be mahogany runabouts manufactured in the early 1900s by Chris-Craft, Hacker and Gar Wood, launches, sailboats, canoes, rowing craft and race boats. Visitors are invited to learn about the boats by reading the accompanying placards or talking with owners.
The show is one of several Skaneateles events and organizations celebrating major anniversaries this year. Three of those anniversaries—the 40th annual Antique and Classic Boat Show, the 80th Lightning Regatta and the 50th anniversary of Mid-Lakes Navigation—are depicted in this year’s Boat Show poster, developed by Oswego illustrator David Owens.
The event is organized by the Finger Lakes Chapter (FLC) of the Antique and Classic Boat Society (ACBS) and the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation (also known as the Skaneateles Foundation), and presented by M&T Bank.
Highlights of the weekend include:
- A boat parade and fly-by, starting at 3 p.m. Saturday. The parade will be led by the Skaneateles Fire Department and Wake for Warriors.
- Performances by the Skaneateles Community Band, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday; the Diana Jacobs Band, noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; and the Soda Ash Six, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
- Performances by the BubbleMan Circus, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday.
- A display of antique model boats by the Syracuse Model Boat Club, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
- A youth judging competition, sponsored by Hagerty Classic Marine Insurance to “spark kids’ passion for wooden boats,” 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
- Opportunities for children to paint toy wooden boats, sponsored by NYCM Insurance, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.
- Knot-tying demonstrations, 11 a.m. Saturday and Sunday.
- Historical tours of the village presented by the Skaneateles Historical Society, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
- A photo-shoot and spectator cruise aboard the Judge Ben Wiles, 10 a.m. Sunday. The Judge will leave from the Mid-Lakes Navigation dock in Clift Park and make a slow tour of the north end of Skaneateles Lake, while exhibiting boats make random passes and provide opportunities for action shots. Tickets are $14 for adults, $5 for children under 13 accompanied by an adult. For reservations, go to midlakesnav.com or call 315-685-8500. Walk-ons are welcome.
- Raffle drawings, 2 p.m. Sunday. First prize is a $900 escape package from Mirbeau Inn & Spa. Additional prizes are brunch for six at the Inns of Aurora, an overnight stay at 34 State, a $100 gift certificate from Mid-Lakes Navigation, a toy wooden boat filled with lottery tickets, a $50 gift certificate and antique boat fingertip towel from Nest 58, a framed 2018 boat show print, an Antique and Classic Boat Show sweatshirt and a toy wooden boat filled with candy. Tickets are $5 each, three for $10, 10 for $20 and are on sale at the Chamber and the show.
A silent auction will feature works by Owens, along with a wooden stool handcrafted by Boat Show committee member and former FLC president Dick Sherwood.
Judging of the boats, in 35 categories, takes place Saturday morning. Throughout the weekend, visitors to the show will cast their votes for the highly coveted People's Choice Award, sponsored by Doug’s Fish Fry, which will be presented at 2:30 p.m. Sunday.
In anticipation of the show, a mid-1940s Penn Yan Cartopper is on display at M&T Bank in downtown Skaneateles.
The Antique and Classic Boat Show is officially sponsored by M&T Bank. Contributing sponsors are the Sherwood Inn, NYCM Insurance, Beak & Skiff/1911, Brinson Marine, Mirbeau Inn & Spa, Doug’s Fish Fry, Jacobs Press, The Sailboat Shop, Blue Water Grill, Cayuga Tree Service, Chase Design, Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Janice M. Miller, Architect, Johnny Angel’s Heavenly Burgers, Mid-Lakes Navigation, Valentine’s Pizza & Deli and Wirth’s Automotive Services. Media sponsors are The Citizen, Group M Communications and WRVO Public Media.
The show is handicapped-accessible.
For more information, go to http://www.skaneateles.com or call the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce at 315-685-0552.
