Schuylkill River Shad Festival / 6th Annual LoopFest

The Schuylkill Canal Association, the Phoenix Iron Canal & Trails Association, the Historical Society of the Phoenixville Area, the Phoenixville Green Team and Chester County Parks invite the general public to participate in the Schuylkill River Shad Festival on Saturday, April 28, 11 AM to 5 PM.  Included will be history, education, recreation and overall fun on both sides of the Schuylkill River in the Phoenixville area.  Click here for a complete listing of all the times and locations for the activities planned for the day.  (Rain date, 4/29/12, same program, times, and location.) The festival will highlight the historic significance of the role the American Shad fishery played in the growth of the river communities up and down the Schuylkill River during our nation’s infancy.  It will also celebrate the return of the American Shad, thanks to improvements within our river over the past 50-plus years.  The removal of hazardous breached dams and the repair and construction of fish ladders on the remaining dams, including the passage built onto the Black Rock Dam completed by Exelon Generation in cooperation with Chester County Parks, has re-established the migratory route for the historic return of the American Shad as far north as Reading, PA. The Schuylkill River Shad Festival, partly sponsored by Exelon Generation, will be happening simultaneously at two specific sites throughout the day:

• Lock 60 on the Schuylkill Canal in Mont Clare PA (Montgomery County);and
• Black Rock Sanctuary and the Black Rock Dam Fish Ladder in Phoenixville (Chester County.)

  Also included will be a hike starting at the Foundry Building, Main St, Phoenixville to the Cromby Station Trail Head of  the Schuylkill River Trail and an organized bike ride taking advantage of the Bike Schuylkill, a free bicycle sharing program operated out of the Phoenix Cycle Shop, Bridge St, Phoenixville.