May 15, 2010 Lock Fest recap:

What:     More than a thousand visitors enjoyed a sunny day at our  family-friendly history festival, celebrating the 2010 reopening of 137-year-old Willamette Falls Navigation Canal and Locks and the 95th year of Corps of Engineers stewardship and operations of the canal. The crowd was particularly interested in the two commercial cargoes that locked through: 150 tons of scrap steel from Schnitzer Steel, in Portland, heading for a recycling center/rolling mill in McMinnville; and a barge of sand. (See photo above)

Lock operators report that 31 boats locked through during the 11 hours the canal was open Saturday, including eight commercial lockages.  Both barges and recreational boaters were patient and took turns with the Sternwheeler Rose, yachts, sailboats, a Grand Ronde tribal canoe and small-boat paddlers sharing the river and canal.  We thank all of you who participated and made it such a great day for boat-watching.

  Thanks again to our major sponsors Portland General Electric, the One Willamette River Coalition, the City of West Linn, The Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, The West Linn Tidings, Hollywood Lighting Services, Accurate Installation, American Medical Response, West Linn Chamber of Commerce, West Linn Paper Company and the Willamette Falls Heritage Foundation.