Hope floats; Canalfest 2014 celebrates vision of reviving Blackstone Canal.

• Author: Duckett, Richard
• Position: Living

Byline: Richard Duckett

Blackstone Canalfest

When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 6

Where: Harding Street at Kelley Square, Worcester

How much: Free

WORCESTER -- The ninth annual Blackstone Canalfest Sept. 6 will include a 75-foot-long water-filled replica of the canal in which people can kayak.

Could there be a day when a festival actually takes place by a watercourse replication of the Blackstone Canal that winds its way from Union Station to Kelley Square?

That's the goal of the Canal District Alliance Inc., which also organizes Canalfest. The event runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 6 on Harding Street at Kelley Square. The Blackstone Canal once flowed along what is now Harding Street and is still there, underground.

Above ground Saturday there will be a free street festival complete with music, entertainment, vendors, food, an abundance of kids' activities, horse-and-wagon rides, current canal project information, and more.

The flow of things can change back and forth and back again.

A marvel of engineering, the Blackstone Canal opened in 1828 as a cargo waterway to the sea connecting Worcester to Providence. But it had a relatively brief heyday, as the advent of the railroad (the first railway line between Boston and Worcester opened in 1835) made canals obsolete. The canal was covered over in the 1890s and was largely forgotten until interest started to revive with the dawn of a new century. The Canal District Alliance was formed about 11 years ago. The recent state Environmental Bond Bill signed by Gov. Deval Patrick has $3 million to fund a feasibility study and design work to see how uncovering the Blackstone Canal would work.

Canalfest takes place in an area -- including Harding, Green and Water streets -- that, to put it kindly, might not have seemed auspicious for much cultural activity a few years ago despite an interesting past. But now in 2014 it is known proudly as the Canal District. About 7,500 people attended last year's Canalfest.

We asked Allen W. Fletcher, a board member of the Canal District Alliance and co-chairman of Canalfest (as well as a well-known businessman and activist), a few questions with Saturday's event in mind.

Q. The Canal District Alliance is promoting the replication of a water course between Union Station and Kelley Square. It sounds wonderful, but how close (or far) is that from becoming a reality? In our lifetimes?

A. Well, how old are you? It's feeling a little closer to reality these days -- partly...