The Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor will kick off its 2018 “Dinner on the Canal” series on Saturday with the season opener, “Coal Country Crooning,” aboard the mule-drawn Josiah White II canal boat in Easton’s Hugh Moore Park.

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the discovery of anthracite in northeastern Pennsylvania. The D&L is celebrating the men and women of the anthracite region who helped fuel America’s 19th Century Industrial Revolution.

Chester Kulesa, former site administrator for the Anthracite Heritage Museum, will regale guests with stories of coal miners past and present. Multi-instrumentalist Jay Smar will entertain with an acoustic buffet of original and covered songs from the region. Fresh dinner selections will be provided by culinary experts.

This two and one-half hour cruise begins at 5:30 p.m. and will include a lock experience. The event is BYOB wine and beer.

The “Coal Country Crooning” dinner cruise is the first of eight scheduled cruises. Each cruise has a different theme, authentic to the region and includes complementary dinner and music. Attendees will experience how Lehigh Canal boats were lowered and raised in the 1800s as they traveled from one section of the canal to another carrying goods to market.

The full “Dinner on the Canal” schedule is as follows:

• July 14, “Canal Stories and Songs” featuring Roy Justice

• July 28, “Celtic Culture Night” featuring Blackwater

• Aug. 11, “Caribbean Connections” featuring Anthony “Cannon” Hernandez

• Aug. 25, “Locks and Locomotives” featuring Dave Matsinko

• Sept. 8, “Jazz on the Josiah White II” featuring Dave Leonhardt Jazz Band

• Sept. 22, Wine Tasting with Sand Castle Winery

• Oct. 6, Oktoberfest

Tickets for “Dinner on the Canal” can be purchased online at canals.org.

For questions and more information, contact Loretta Susen at loretta@delawareandlehigh.org or 610-923-3548, ext. 221.