At the Antique and Classic Boat Show, held July 26-28 in Skaneateles’ Clift Park, visitors can learn about and enjoy the boats of a bygone era.
Displays on land and water will feature some 90 antique and classic wooden boats, ranging from mahogany runabouts manufactured by Chris-Craft, Hacker and Gar Wood in the early 1900s to launches, sailboats, canoes, rowing craft and race boats—many restored to their original condition.
Hours are 3 p.m. to dusk Friday, 9 a.m. to dusk Saturday and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free.
The show, which attracts more than 10,000 visitors each year, is organized by the Finger Lakes Chapter (FLC) of the Antique and Classic Boat Society and the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation (also known as the Skaneateles Foundation), and presented by M&T Bank.
Exhibitors come not only from Central New York, but also from New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, South Carolina and Canada. “Many travel hundreds of miles to get here, to afford others the opportunity to get up-close and personal with these grand old boats,” says FLC president Jack Gifford.
This is the Finger Lakes Chapter’s 35th annual show, and the 19th year it has been held in Skaneateles.
“The show has become a tradition for exhibitors, families and visitors,” says Susan Dove, executive director of the Skaneateles Foundation. “With children’s activities, the boat parade, free concerts, historical tours—and the village’s many fine boutiques, galleries and restaurants—there truly is something for everyone.”
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 3 p.m. Sunday.
Additional highlights include:
• Performances by the 42nd Infantry Division Band, 4 p.m. Friday; the Skaneateles Community Band, 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday; the Syracuse Brigadiers Alumni Drum & Bugle Corps, noon to 3 p.m. Saturday; and the Soda Ash Six, noon to 3 p.m. Sunday.
• 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 a.m. Saturday.
• Opportunities for children to paint their own wooden boats, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday.
• Guided tours by the Skaneateles Historical Society, starting at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. $10 per person, with proceeds benefiting the Historical Society. A 50/50 raffle will also be offered.
• A boat parade and fly-by, starting at 3 p.m. Saturday.
• 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 $10 for adults, $5 for children under 13 accompanied by an adult. Coffee and pastries will be available; no reservations are necessary.
• Raffle drawings.
This year’s poster was developed from a painting by Jay Brooks, of Callicoon, N.Y., whose subjects range from small-town storefronts to distant dramatic vistas. In addition to the Maresella Gallery in Skaneateles, Brooks exhibits at galleries in the Chelsea section of New York City, Rochester, Sullivan County (N.Y.), Lambertville, N.J., and Cody, Wyo., and has works in corporate, national and private collections.
Brooks has been an art instructor at Monticello (N.Y.) High School for the last 20 years and an artist since the age of 14, when he began painting under the classical apprenticeship of John Piesley and the plein-air instruction of Charles Movalli, a disciple of the late Emile Gruppe.
Posters are $10 and are on sale at the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce, 22 Jordan St., and at the show.
The Antique and Classic Boat Show is officially sponsored by M&T Bank. Contributing sponsors are Katz’s Marina, Summit Auto, the Sherwood Inn, Mirbeau Inn & Spa, Bill and Bobbi Dean, Byrne Dairy/Subway, Doug’s Fish Fry, Hagerty Classic Marine Insurance, The Sailboat Shop, Johnny Angel’s Heavenly Burgers, Mid-Lakes Navigation, the Village Inn and Wirth’s Automotive Services.
Media sponsors are Group M Communications, Scotsman Press, the Skaneateles Journal and WRVO Public Media.
If there’s a secret to the show’s many years of success, it lies in attention to detail. “The Boat Show Committee spends a year in planning to ensure that exhibitors and visitors have an enjoyable weekend,” says FLC Boat Show chair Teddi Myllymaki.
For more information, go to http://www.skaneateles.com or call the Skaneateles Area Chamber of Commerce at (315) 685-0552.
