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Top Hat

The City of Port Colborne will mark the opening of the Welland Canal’s 2025 shipping season with a familiar spring tradition.

On Saturday, March 22, the City’s Top Hat Ceremony will return to Lock 8 Gateway Park, when Mayor William Steele will welcome the captain of the first downbound vessel and present them with a top hat to mark the occasion.

Along with representatives from federal and provincial governments, Port Colborne City Council and the marine industry, residents and the media are invited to attend the ceremony at 163 Mellanby Avenue, which will begin with a breakfast at 8 a.m.

The breakfast is being hosted by the Port Colborne Fair Trade Committee and will include pancakes, hot chocolate, tea and coffee.

Anyone unable to attend can view a livestream of the event on the City’s Facebook page. A recording of the proceedings will also be uploaded to the City’s YouTube channel after the event has ended.

WHERE: Lock 8 Gateway Park

163 Mellanby Avenue

Port Colborne, ON

WHEN: Saturday, March 22, 2025.

Breakfast begins at 8 a.m. with the ceremony to follow

Quick Facts:

  • The first Port Colborne Top Hat Ceremony was held in the early 1970s under Mayor John Buscarino.
  • There are two top hats involved in the ceremony. The first hat is loaned for ceremonial purposes only from the Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum. It’s a turn-of-the-century Tress & Co beaver felt fur hat that was anonymously donated to the Museum. This particular hat has been used in the Port Colborne Top Hat Ceremony since 1999. The top hat is stored in an acid-free box at the climate-controlled Captain John W. Sharpe Heritage Resource Centre.
  • The second top hat is a keepsake for the captain of the first vessel to take on their downbound journey. It is embroidered on the inside with a special message and the date.
  • The present Welland Canal is the fourth Canal to be built and was officially opened August 6, 1932. The first canal was opened in 1833.
  • 2025 will be the St. Lawrence Seaway’s 67th navigation season of the Welland Canal.
  • The Port Colborne Historical & Marine Museum has an online exhibit featuring the history of the Welland Canal including construction, commerce and industry, shipbuilders, East Street and West Street, and more. Visit the exhibit at Portcolborne.ca/onlineexhibits