On Oct. 18 the Belle of Louisville will turn 100 years old. To mark this significant milestone, Louisville, Ky., will play host to the “Centennial Festival of Riverboats.”
From Oct. 14-19, six sternwheel paddlewheel boats will participate in the celebration. These include the Louisville-based Belle of Louisville and Spirit of Jefferson, the River Queen from Newport Ky., the Belle of Cincinnati from Cincinnati, the Spirit of Peoria from Peoria, Ill., and the American Queen from Memphis, Tenn. These six boats will take part in a variety of events including steamboat races, daily public excursion cruises and a festive parade of boats on the Ohio River.
In addition, the towboat and barge industry will be hosting a large exhibit entitled “A Century of River Commerce: River Industry Display.” This exhibit will explore 100 years of river transportation and feature both historic and modern towboats. There will also be a display of model boats, a line-handling area, educational displays and river career booths.
The reason for the excitement about this birthday celebration is simple. In our lifetime, this will be the only steamboat to have turned 100 years old. Just to add historical perspective, the average life of a steamboat in those early days was 3.5 years. The fact that the Belle of Louisville has made it to 100 is nothing short of remarkable. This grand lady is actually the most traveled riverboat in existence today. In her heyday, the Belle would travel, or “tramp” as it was then called, from city to city picking up passengers and then entertain them. The Belle is in incredible condition and if cared for adequately, she will entertain passengers for many years to come.
The city of Louisville is committed to this event and will establish a special “control tower” traffic system, manned by licensed masters of towing vessels to ensure that all vessels can transit the area safely. I hope that you can make it over to Louisville for this important celebration. For more information, go to www.festivalofriverboats.com.
