Only day of the year when the Army Corps of Engineers opens up the inside of the Locks property to the general public.
Renna Barnes was a little surprised when she arrived at Engineers Day for the first time Friday.
"I thought the lines would be shorter. I didn't know how big it would be. I kind of assumed it would be a smaller thing but seeing everyone here in the giant lines and it was cool to see a lot of the people who cared about coming to see the boats as much as we do," Barnes said.
She drove up Thursday from Romeo, Mich. with her siblings and their grandmother.
With her digital camera in hand, she was snapping all the pictures she could from between the Poe and MacArthur Locks. This is the only day of the year when the Army Corps of Engineers opens up the inside of the Locks property to the general public.
Barnes has seen freighters on the St. Clair River in southeast lower Michigan but has never seen them this close before.
"It's really awesome and really cool to see the boats. I know my family has always been big on seeing the freighters so it's been really cool to see them so close for the first time in between the two locks," added Barnes.
After a two-hour delay due to severe weather moving through, the gates opened up around 11 a.m. to a long line of people, just in time for many to see the Frontenac enter the MacArthur Lock around 1130a.m. Not far behind, the Algoma Intrepid locked through the larger Poe Lock.
Event-goers were treated to the Hanseatic Inspiration cruise ship using the MacArthur Lock. And the last vessel of the day before the event wrapped up was the CSL St. Laurent using the Poe Lock. A steady stream of freighter traffic kept everyone happy.
The day wrapped up Friday afternoon with over 4,000 people having entered the Soo Locks Canal Park.
And while viewing the freighters up close was the biggest thrill for the visitors, there was much more going on in the Locks Park and on Portage Avenue. Once entering the main gates past security, there were several law enforcement agencies with displays and information. On Portage Avenue, between Osborn Boulevard. and Ferris Street, about six dozen vendors displayed their goods.
Linda Hoath, executive director of the Sault Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said despite the storm delay, the turnout was remarkable.
"The first Engineers Day started up in 1977. It was exciting, but very low key. Up to about 20 years ago, it was very low key. We would see about 2,000 people the whole day. But today, even with the nasty weather to start the morning, the numbers were awesome," Hoath said.
In the winter, the Soo has the famous I-500 Snowmobile Race that draws in thousands to the community. Engineers Day is the big summer event for the area.
"All the hotels are booked well in advance of this event. While I will not know the impact of this Engineers Day until late August, the 2023 I-500 race brought in just over $2,000,000 to the area. So, we are looking at a very positive impact to our area," added Hoath.
