By Joyce Kryszak
Buffalo, NY – The freedom schooner, Amistad, doesn't dock at Buffalo's waterfront until September. But tickets have already gone on sale and excitement for the event has already begun.
Tickets quietly went on sale last week. And they're already going quickly. More than 300 were sold in the first two days. There are only about six thousand of the timed tickets available for guided tours of the Amistad. Ann Conable is a spokesperson for the Historical Society, the organization that is hosting the ship. She says they expect the tours will sell out long before Amistad comes to shore. But she says the controlled numbers are necessary.
"It isn't a free-for-all, where everybody just goes on the ship," Conable explained. "It's handled in a very positive, interpretative fashion, so that people can have a good experience."
The Amistad will be in town for four days -- from September 10th through the 14th. But Conable says there are a variety of public events already underway to help get people ready for their on ship experience.
"Visiting and touring the ship is probably a meaningful experience for most people, but it's not the only one," Conable said. "We though it was important to design a series of events that are connected to Amistad's history and to make them widely available to the public so that everyone can experience the Amistad in a variety of ways.
For a full list of Amistad events, or for information about tickets, you can call the Historical Society, or go on line to their web site at www.bechs.org.