Built for work but famous for play, Canada's best-known inland waterway -- Ontario's Rideau Canal -- got a special present to mark its 175th birthday: in June, 2007, it became Canada's 14th UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now you can join the party.

Canal enthusiasts in communities along the river corridor organized a year-long birthday extravaganza, and the fun stretches right through to December. There was a "Music on the Rideau" chamber music series in August; a Rideau River Jamboree and 19th century Fall Festival in October; and an ongoing art show featuring images of the canal. The Rideau revelry intensifies in Ottawa, where a separate, but complementary, celebration is also underway this year to recognize the 150th anniversary of the founding of Canada's capital.

A marvel of 19th century engineering, the 202 km (125 miles) canal is North America's oldest continuously operating waterway and links the small communities between Kingston, in the south, with Ottawa, further north.

Conceived in the wake of the War of 1812, the canal was originally intended to serve as a secure route for Montréal-based troops and supplies to reach the settlements of Upper Canada, and as a strategic dockyard in Kingston. But after the threat of war passed, the canal quickly established itself as a major artery for regional commerce. Today, it's a recreational magnet for pleasure boaters in summer, ice skaters in winter. In fact, the canal is the world's longest natural ice rink, alive with activity even in the coldest weeks of a Canadian winter.

Rideau Canal history and events listings by month: www.rideau175.org
Information about the 150th anniversary of the nation's capital: www.1857.gc.ca/1857
Canada's UNESCO World Heritage Sites: www.pc.gc.ca/progs/spm-whs/index_e.asp