The 2006 Tall Stacks Music, Arts and Heritage Festival has now concluded in Cincinnati, an event which is estimated to bring at least $45 million into the local economy.

According to this story in the Cincinnati Post, one of the highlights of the Festival was a steady stream of top-notch musical entertainment performing along the banks of the Ohio River. The Tall Stacks Festival had returned to Cincy after a three-year absence, bringing with it 16 riverboats arriving from as far away as Galveston and New Orleans. The oldest boat on the Ohio, the 1914 Belle of Louisville, also made a visit.

The history of steamboat traffic down the Ohio is a storied one. In 1848, when the famous eight-pate daguerreotype of the waterfront in Cincinnati was taken, over 50 steamboats were docked; in the year 1852 alone, almost 8,000 riverboats visited the Queen City, many associated with the community’s renowned pork-packing industry.

To get a feel for the event, click on the arrow below and take a minute to “hop on board” the Belle of Louisville as it comes into town.