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As clocks spring forward this weekend and the first day of spring is less than two weeks away, the opening of the Welland Canal is sure to follow. Port Colborne’s Top Hat Ceremony celebrates the opening of the Welland Canal and start of the 2022 shipping season by welcoming the captain of the first downbound vessel.
Kicking off the festivities on Sunday, Mar. 20, 2022, St. James and St. Brendan Anglican Church (55 Charlotte Street, Port Colborne) will host a Mariner’s Service at 7 p.m.
The Top Hat Ceremony will be held on Thursday, Mar. 24, 2022, in the pavilion at Lock 8 Gateway Park (163 Mellanby Avenue, Port Colborne), hosted by Mayor William C. Steele, along with representatives from upper levels of government and the marine industry. Beginning at 8 a.m. Port Colborne’s Fair-Trade Committee will be providing fair trade coffee and hot chocolate. The ceremony will begin at 8:30 a.m. Attendees are asked to follow public health measures that are in place at the time of the event.
Top Hat facts:
- Port Colborne became Ontario’s first Fair Trade City in 2009. We’re proud of our status and committed to making our world a better place by offering, using and educating the public about fairly traded products.
- The present Welland Canal is the fourth Canal to be built and was officially opened August 6, 1932.
- The Top Hat Ceremony began in Port Colborne in the early 1970s under Mayor John Buscarino.
- The Top Hat that is currently presented to the captain of the first Downbound Vessel has been loaned from the Port Colborne & Historical Museum since 1999. It’s a beaver felt fur hat that was donated to the Historical & Marine Museum by an anonymous donor. It’s a turn of the Century Tress and Co. from London, England. The Founder of the Tress & Co. hat firm was Cooper Tress Sr (1787-1869), son of William Tress and Sarah Clifford, of Upchurch, Kent, England. He was joined at the firm by his son Cooper Tress Jr. and later by Cooper Tress Jr.’s sons, Sidney Cooper Tress and Herbert Charles Tress. The company was active in England for over one hundred years being established in 1846 and finally selling to Christy’s in 1953 in the neighbouring suburb of Bermondsdey.
- After the Ceremony the Top Hat is stored in an acid-free box in the Captain John W. Sharpe Heritage Resource Centre, a climate-controlled building that was built in 1995 to house over 17,000 artifacts and archives. But don’t worry, the captain is given a keepsake Top Hat to take with them on their downbound journey!
- New from 2017, in celebration of Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations, the captain will also be presented with a silk tuxedo scarf bearing the Canada 150 logo.
- Every Civic Holiday long weekend Port Colborne celebrates their Marine Heritage during Canal Days. The festival is planning its return July 29 – Aug. 1, 2022. For more information, visit www.canaldays.ca.
History of the Welland Canal:
To learn more about the Welland Canal, check out these titles from your Port Colborne Public Library by visiting 310 King Street, or placing a hold online.
- The Golden Dream: A History of the St. Lawrence Seaway - Call Number: 386.509714 STA
- Historic Welland Canals - Call Number: 386.470971338 BRA
- Mr. Merritt’s Ditch: A Welland Canals Album - Call Number: 386.470971338 STY
- This Colossal Project: Building the Welland Ship Canal 1913 – 1932 - Call Number: 386.470971 STY
- This Great National Object: Building the Nineteenth-Century Welland Canals - Call Number: 386.470971338 STY
- The Welland Canals: Past and Present - Call Number: DVD 386.470971338 WEL
- The Giant Staircase: Building the Welland Canal - Call Number: J FRI
The Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum also has an online exhibit featuring the history of the Welland Canal including construction, commerce and industry, shipbuilders, East Street and West Street, and more. To access the online exhibit, visit their webpage.
For more information about the Top Hat Ceremony, visit our webpage.
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