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a large tugboat with yellow, blue, and orange colors

2025 Waterford Tugboat Roundup

Name: 2025 Albany Auto Show
Start: 2025-11-07
End: 2025-11-09
Location: MVP Arena

The Tugboat Roundup is a gathering of tugboats, workboats and barges to celebrate the maritime heritage of the Northeast Inland Waterways.

When and where

Date and time

Friday, Sep 5, 2025 until Sunday, Sep 7, 2025

See Below for Dates & Times

Address

Richard M. Hurst Harbor Center, 1 Tugboat Alley Waterford, NY 12188

Driving Directions

Cost

FREE ADMISSION

About this event

The Tugboat Roundup is a gathering of tugboats, workboats and barges to celebrate the maritime heritage of the Northeast Inland Waterways. The festival features a tug parade, tug tours, boat rides, tug talks, competitions, fireworks, children's activities, vendors, food, and more. The Tugboat Roundup takes place annually the weekend after Labor Day.

Friday, September 5th

4:00 PM - 8:00 PM: Vendors
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM: Live music by George Ward (Visitor’s Center)
~5:45 PM: Tug parade arrives in Waterford
6:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Live music by Troy Samba (Visitor’s Center)

Saturday, September 6th

10:00 AM - 6:00 PM: Tours of docked tugs (open times vary by tug)
10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Live Music by Curragh (Visitor Center)
10:00 AM - 3:00 PM: Boat rides (at battery/boat launch)
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM: Farmers Market and Bounce House (at Lock 2)
10:00 AM - 4:00 PM: Waterford Fire Department Obstacle Course (at Lock 2)
11:00 AM - 12:30 PM: Tug Talk: The Thomas X. Grasso (Peeble’s Island)
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM: Face Painting (at Lock 2)
12:00 PM - 2:30 PM: Live music by Tom Harding (Visitor Center)
1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Live music by the Word (Lock E-2 Park)
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Tug Talk: A Nontraditional Trip on the Canal (Peeble’s Island)
3:00 PM - 5:45 PM: Live music by Capt. Squeeze and the Zydeco Moshers
3:00 PM: Mariners Line Toss, ROUND 1 (Visitor’s Center, outside)
3:30 PM - 4:30 PM: Tug Talk: Ideas Borrowed, Adapted, or Rejected: Designing NY’s Canal Structures (Peeble’s Island)
6:15 PM - 9:00 PM: Live music by River Junction
8:45 PM: Fireworks!

Sunday, September 7th

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Tours of docked tugs (open times vary by tug)
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM: Boat rides (at battery/boat launch)
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM: Farmers Market and Bouncy Slide (at Lock 2)
10:00 AM - 1:00 PM: Live music by Scott Stockman (Visitor Center)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Tug Talk: How it Started, How it’s Going: 200 Years of the Erie Canal (Peeble’s Island)
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Live Music by Mark Rust (at Lock 2)
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM: Live Music by Mark Rust (at Lock 2)
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM: Face Painting (at Lock 2)
1:00 PM: Mariners Line Toss Competition, FINALS (Visitor Center, outside)
2:00 PM: Closing ceremonies