Lake Champlain Legacy Celebration - Crown Point, New York

Lake Champlain Legacy Celebration - Crown Point, New York

The Lake Champlain Legacy Celebration took place on September 19, 2009 at the Crown Point State Historic Site and at the Memorial Lighthouse on the adjacent Crown Point Public Campground in Crown Point, NY. This was the only bi-state and international event of the year-long anniversary celebration coordinated between the New York State Quadricentennial Commission and the Vermont Quadricentennial Commission. The celebration at Crown Point honored the 400th anniversary of Samuel de Champlain's exploration and highlighted the rich cultural heritage of American, Canadian, French and Native American history.

While focusing on the great cultural diversity in the region and the historical significance of Crown Point in American history, the festival also emphasized the rich natural beauty of the Lake. Visitors enjoyed featured performances and presentations from Martin Sexton, The United States Merchant Marine Corps Bands, Piers Faccini, Pulitzer Prize Winning Author and Historian David Hackett Fischer, Justin Jones,Stephane Wrembel, and Darren Bonaparte. A premier screening of Dead Reckoning (a documentary on Samuel de Champlain's exploration of the region) was also highlighted. Musical performances, history lectures, archaeological tours at Fort Crown Point, the newly designed Crown Point Visitor's Center exhibits, and local food made the celebration day an event to remember for generations.

At days end visitors enjoyed a rededication ceremony of the Crown Point Memorial Lighthouse, constructed for the 1909. Tercentennary celebration of Lake Champlain. The lighthouse features a base relief sculpture by Auguste Rodin donated by the French to honor Samuel de Champlain. The evening ended with a beautiful display of fireworks over Lake Champlain.