EVENT: Celebration lowers the boom on winter

Local News

April 2, 2008

Boom Days is back — despite continued presence of ice boom

By Don Glynn/glynnd@gnnewspaper.com The Niagara Gazette Wed Apr 02, 2008, 09:08 PM EDT

A two-day event celebrating the removal of the Lake Erie-Niagara River ice boom just might prove a prime example of putting the cart before the horse. But, as in the past, that won’t discourage participants looking to the brighter side of spring.

For the record, it appears “Boom Days” the activities Friday and Saturday will be celebrated while the ice boom remains in place south of the Peace Bridge, along a line linking the Buffalo shoreline with Fort Erie, Ont.

The ice boom, a joint operation between the New York Power Authority and Ontario Power Generation, is designed to prevent a glut of ice flowing rapidly into the Niagara River, clogging utility company intakes and damaging shoreline properties. It is usually lifted by April 1, unless there is more than 250 square miles of ice — the present case — in the eastern basin of the lake.

The popular boom events will extend from the Buffalo River and the eastern basin of Lake Erie to Old Fort Niagara, Youngstown.

Area activities include:

• Kickoff at 5 p.m. Friday at Dugs Dive, 111 Furhman Blvd., Buffalo, near the Small Boat Harbor. The Old Fort Niagara cannon will be fired at 5:45 p.m. and the E.M. Cotter, the world’s oldest fireboat will journey out to the ice boom.

Live music will follow at 7:30 p.m. and the Boom Days Photo Contest awards will be presented at 8 p.m., followed by a fireworks display.

• On Saturday, some events will shift to the LaSalle Yacht Club, 73 S. 68th St., with educational exhibits at 6 p.m. on the Buffalo-Niagara Region. A reenactment of LaSalle, the explorer, and Father Louis Hennepin, arriving in a canoe, is set for 6 p.m.

John Conlin, editor of the Western New York Heritage Magazine, will speak at 7 p.m. Fireworks over the river are slated for 8:30 p.m.

• Also Saturday, the Youngstown Yacht Club, 491 Water St., will host a “Meet the Fleet” at 4 p.m., featuring racing boats and a center board display. Information on club membership, racing cruising and junior sailing will be available.

The Carl Filbert Band will perform at 7 p.m., with fireworks set at 8:30 p.m.