“It’s going to be a whang-dang-do” organizer George Johnson told me about plans for Family Fishing Days 2012, this weekend in Broderick Park. The event has grown every year until now, in its fourth year, it will be two days — more Family Fishing Weekend, really. With fishing and events in the park from 7AM to 7PM both Saturday and Sunday. See here and here for previous Family Fishing Day coverage (including a slide show).
Hosted at Broderick Park, at the “foot” of W. Ferry Street, the event celebrates our beautiful water so close to our neighborhoods, our oft-forgotten waterfront parks, the sport of fishing to which (sadly) urban youngsters have been little exposed, and above all the efforts of community leaders to get young people to embrace alternatives to street violence.
The will also highlight and update the community on the ongoing efforts to revitalize Broderick Park, which Buffalo Rising has cheered on for years (e.g., here and here). Not just a renewal of the park’s existing facilities, revitalization plans (here and here) for Broderick include making it a major regional stop for Underground Railroad heritage tourism. Because of the location of the ferry (the reason for the naming of Ferry Street), escaped slaves were taken to freedom in Canada from this site, along with others along the Niagara Frontier. Several events this weekend at the park will celebrate this heritage, including a very special performance on Sunday afternoon.
Revitalization plans for the park include an amphitheater space configured for storytelling to groups, and reminders of the difficult trek and tortuous routes of escaped slaves making their way from below the Mason-Dixon line to western New York preceding their final (sometimes harrowing) crossing of the international border.
And as new City Hall reporter for the Buffalo News Jill Terreri reported, Mayor Byron Brown visited Broderick Park this week to announce that work will commence this fall on repairs to the first closed section of the Bird Island Pier.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/communities/buffalo/article910612.ece
Family Fishing Days correspond with DEC’s efforts to promote fishing as a sport to the next generation, with fishing allowed statewide without a fishing license on these two days only.
Event details below:
http://bnriverkeeper.org/get-involved/family-fishing-day-2012/
Family Fishing Day 2012
The Buffalo United Front will host the 4th Annual Family Fishing Day, taking place Saturday June 23rd and Sunday June 24th 2012 from 7am to 7pm at historic Broderick Park. This event is designed to bring families together from across the great Buffalo Niagara Region, for a fun filled day of fishing and games.
This event is made possible through community support and charitable donations. While a variety of items would still be appreciated there is a great need for fishing rods and reels. Scimes Tackle and Variety (2815 Niagara Street) is offering a rod /reel combo, valued at 32 dollars, for 15 dollars, in conjunction with this event.