Smelt Fest will go on, despite weather

Despite unconscionable levels of rain this week, the Lewiston Smelt Festival will go on Friday night at North Water Street.

The serving area and other portions of the event will be under tents.

The Smelt Festival will begin at 5 p.m. at the corner of Center and North Water streets, and is expected to draw hundreds of hungry visitors, as it has in years past.

The popular event is hosted by The Niagara River Region Chamber of Commerce and the Village of Lewiston, in cooperation with the Niagara River Anglers and The Silo Restaurant. DiMino's Lewiston Tops is the prime sponsor.

The evening is a celebration of the region's most famous natural resource - smelt - which is netted in the Niagara River. The Niagara River Anglers and Niagara River Region Chamber staff, board of directors and local dignitaries will serve free smelt samples. In fact, the Niagara River Anglers will batter and fry 400 pounds of smelt.

The free smelt is distributed in white containers until it runs out. Additional food and beverage will be available for purchase, and neighboring Water Street Landing and Lower Niagara Moose Lodge 584 will also be open during the festival.

Smelt-tasters can enjoy entertainment from 90 West on Friday night.

This event is geared toward an adult audience. Donations are accepted and will go toward Niagara River Anglers community programs.

Anthony DiMino has been a major Lewiston Smelt Festival sponsor the past three years. He also assists with ordering and storing the smelt for the Niagara River Anglers. The Niagara River Greenway Commission, Modern Corporation and Waste Management Inc. also sponsor the event. Falls Tent and Awning supplies the tent, stage and tables.

On Friday and throughout the weekend, Lewiston restaurants will be busy preparing their own culinary variation of smelt. Participating restaurants can be identified by a decorative fish flag flown outside their doors.

For additional information, call the chamber office at 716-754-9500 or visit online at www.NiagaraRiverRegion.com.