10th Barge Bash takes place June 23
Hancock’s 10th annual Barge Bash launches on Saturday, June 23, on the rewatered local section of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal.
The event is jointly sponsored by the Hancock Arts Council, the Town of Hancock, and the C&O Canal National Historical Park.
Back again for the third year, a one-mile run called the Bash Dash is included. The run begins at Hancock Middle-Senior High School and ends at the Barge Bash location — the Rail Trail parking lot and Canal Street.
Activities for the day begin at 10 a.m., when entries for the Barge Bash begin to assemble for viewing. At noon, barge entries will be placed in the C&O Canal and at 1 p.m. the nautical parade begins.
Prizes will be awarded at approximately 2 p.m. Individuals, families, friends, groups, teammates, coworkers, churches and businesses are invited to create and enter a barge. Entry forms are at Town Hall, 126 W. High St., or call 301-678-5622.
The registration fee costs $50 for each entry. To view pictures of previous barges, go online at the Hancock Chamber of Commerce website www.hancockmd.com under Barge Bash photos.
In addition to the nautical parade of the barges, there will be music by the Flashbacks. Food vendors, photo opportunities and rides by a mule-drawn wagon (courtesy of Wayne and Jeanne Ward) will also be available.
For more information, send an email to murphydvm@hotmail.com or call 301-678-6635 Monday through Friday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
Canal family reunion
The Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park will host the fourth annual Hancock Canal Family Reunion Saturday, June 23, from 11 a.m. to noon during the Barge Bash.
If your family history is associated with the C&O Canal, or if you would like to hear stories from other canal families, come out and listen to the retelling of stories from along the old waterway.
Stretching 184.5 miles from the heart of Georgetown in Washington D.C., to the scenic mountain views of Cumberland in Western Maryland, the C&O Canal was the backbone of numerous communities during canal operations.
Thousands of immigrants established these communities while laboring along the canal, some in search of a better life, and some for the lure of constructing a grand canal in a new nation. Today, many families living in these communities have stories to share and can trace their ancestors back to canal operations, nearly 100 years or more.
For more information regarding the Canal Family Reunion or the Hancock Barge Bash, call the Canal’s Williamsport Visitors Center at 301-582-0813.
‘Adventures in Friendship’
Registration continues for “Adventures in Friendship,” the annual Day Camp sponsored by the Interfaith Service Coalition and St. Thomas’ Episcopal Church to be held June 25-29.
