Tonawanda, N.Y. (WBEN) - As summer rolls along, the 41st annual Canal Fest is back in the City of Tonawanda and the City of North Tonawanda. Mayors Austin Tylec of North Tonawanda and John White of Tonawanda are excited celebrate a landmark anniversary.
"It's also the 200th year of the [Erie] canal, the anniversary of the canal, which is really nice, because we're trying to make that in every stop all the way down the canal," White said. "There's gonna be celebrations all year, because it's the 200th year, the remembrance of the canal bicentennial."
Unlike most years, Canal Fest has already begun on the North Tonawanda side, but the Tonawanda side will start on Tuesday with a parade. Part of the reason for the staggered starts is the numbers difference for each side's police force.
"North Tonawanda is a much, much bigger city, 60,000 versus 15,000. We don't have the size of the police department to enforce it and do it properly," says Mayor White. "If I can't man it and keep people safe, including the people coming here, I'm not going to open and the council agreed, we all agreed it's a safety issue on top of it."
The rides this year are also going to be on the North Tonawanda side along with lumberjack events that mayor Tylec is excited about.
"There's a lot of cool, different activities throughout the day. Each day is different," Tylec said. "I'm looking at the flyer now, and I mean, you can go there and find something unique throughout the week."
When asking Mayor Tylec about a challenge against Mayor White, Tylec had this to say.
"Well, I don't know if anyone wants to see Mayor White, or I in a bathing suit, I certainly wouldn't, but I don't know that would be some competition," Tylec said. "Maybe we could do something less wet, and maybe a chainsaw carving competition of sorts, or an ax throwing. There will be ax throwing, and I got a pretty good eye so that that would be a fun one."
The parade will start on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. going along Grove Street and to Main Street in Tonawanda, crossing over the bridge on Webster Street.