Conversations Along the Canal

Title: Conversations Along the Canal: Celebrating Voting!

For Every Family,

For Every Worker,

For Every Freedom,

For Every Reason,

WE VOTE!

Date/Time: Saturday August 8, 2026 at 1:00pm to 3:00pm

Where: Genesee Gateway Park (151 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620) Mt. Hope at Alexander Street.

Limited parking at the park and in the neighborhood.  Suggested: carpooling, bikes.  There will be porta-potties.

What:  Celebration Rally for Voting – in honor of the anniversary of the signing of the Voting Rights Act (August 6, 1965) and in response to the erosion of our voting rights by the U.S. Supreme Court – we celebrate our right to VOTE – registering, checking registration, planning to vote!  Music, tables for local groups, information and inspiration, and more! 

We will provide ways to register voters, to help people make their voter plans, and to explore the issues that motivate folks vote, the challenges people face to voting today, and how to overcome those barriers.  Celebrate with us, 250 years young and still growing forward!

Who: The League of Women Voters- Rochester Metro Area is joining together with Indivisible Outreach, Knowledge and Action Rochester, and First Unitarian “This is What Democracy Looks Like” to host celebration at Genesee Gateway Park on  Saturday August 8 from 1:00pm to 3:00pm.  

Multiple area groups will be tabling with opportunities to get involved.

Why: We are creating this celebration to bring people together, to share ideas and inspirations, and to celebrate our engagement in our Democratic Republic.  Together, we will increase our civic engagement!

From the League of Women Voters National:

Democracy works best when we show up together! On August 8, join us for Unite & Rise for Voting Rights, a nationwide day of action honoring the anniversary of the VRA. Communities across the country are coming together to strengthen voter participation and protect the freedom to vote! Find an event near you: https://www.mobilize.us/lwv/map/

Across New York State, chapters the League of Women Voters’ Unite and Rise celebrations are partnering with local activist groups to host “Conversations Along the Canal: Celebrating Voting” along New York State’s waterways, to commemorate the historical civil rights Voting Rights Act, and to call us to renewed action. Events are being planned in Lockport NY, Tonawanda, Canalside in Buffalo, through Rochester, Fairport, and Brockport, on to Syracuse and down the canals, Finger Lakes and rivers.

Historically, the Erie Canal shaped America and served as a conduit of ideas – the “Information Highway” of its day. Dug by our immigrant ancestors, we built connections, built economy, and developed our fundamental ideas. Interactions with the Oneida Haudenosaunee people revealed their governance through equality. These influenced our political thinking -- our original declaration that “all men are created equal” blossomed into “all people are created equal” as reflected in our 14th and 19th Amendments and the civil rights we enjoy today.

The canal towpath served as one of the routes for the Underground Railway for those seeking freedom and sanctuary in Canada. Abolitionists spread their passion for humanity along the canal and waterways. Canal Boat Campaigns were organized by suffragists to spread their message. Seneca Falls on the Erie Canal played a major role in sharing the ideas launched at the 1848 Convention. Harriet Staton Blatch, daughter of Elizabeth Cady Staton (author of the Declaration of Sentiments), started her first canal boat campaign around 1908, gathering many prominent women (who have the wealth and backing to create big events) to travel by canal boat to give speeches, wave banners, and garner support.