Top Hat Ceremony will mark the opening of the Welland Canal and the start of the 2022 shipping season.
Port Colborne will soon mark the opening of the Welland Canal.
Festivities will kick off on March 20th with a Mariner's Service at 7 PM at St. James and St. Brendan Anglican Church.
The Top Hat Ceremony will take place on Thursday, March 24th in the pavilion at Lock 8 Gateway Park, and will be hosted by Mayor Bill Steele.
Starting at 8 AM, Port Colborne's Fair-Trade Committee will provide fair trade coffee and hot chocolate, and the ceremony will start at 8:30.
The Top Hat currently presented to the captain of the first Downbound Vessel has been loaned from the Port Colborne & Historical Museum since 1999.
After the Ceremony, it will be stored in an acid-free box at the Captain John W Sharp Heritage Resource Centre.

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