Adirondack Winter Carnivals Kick-Off February’s Line-Up of Festivals
I know it kills everyone to look for things to do every weekend. It looks like every corner of the Adirondacks is having some sort of “event” next month. Strange how the suffix “-stock” never made the list.
Given so many to choose from, I thought a map would help. Plus, I threw in a couple bonus Carnifests and a planning chart.
Architecture of the Champlain Valley
Walking tours
As part of the Lake Champlain Quadricentennial celebration, Adirondack Architectural Heritage is presenting a new tour series, Architecture of the Champlain Valley. The series features half-day walking tours of eight towns along the lake, led by experienced and professional guides. If you are interested in exploring the architecture, community development and rich cultural heritage of your community and the region as a whole, please join us.
Tours will be at 9:30 am and 1:00 pm on Saturdays in May and June unless otherwise noted.
May 2- Willsboro: One of the oldest settlements in Essex County, Willsboro has a rich history connected to agriculture, paper industry, stone quarrying, shipbuilding, and tourism. May 9- Keeseville: Keeseville is a town with a long history as an industrial community that manufactured products from wood and iron ore using the power of the Ausable River. May 16- Essex: Essex prospered during much of the 19th century as a shipping and ship building port, and today, as a National Historic Register District, contains many wonderful examples of various styles of architecture. May 23- Elizabethtown: As the county seat, Elizabethtown boasts a large historic government complex, and a number of buildings that reflect the town’s social, political and economic importance. May 30- Port Henry: Port Henry and the surrounding town of Moriah have the longest industrial history of any community in the Champlain Valley, beginning with iron mining and manufacturing in the late 1700s. June 6- Ticonderoga: Historically associated with military events, Ticonderoga developed as an industrial town connected to paper manufacturing, and today offers more than three dozen buildings listed on the National Register. June 20- Wadhams (10:00)/Westport (1:00): The hamlet of Wadhams lies just north of Westport on the Boquet River, and was once known for its industrial pursuits which supported the outlying farms. Though industry and agriculture played a role in the development of Westport, it has gained most of its identity as a summer resort town. June 27- Ironville: In the town of Crown Point, the settlement of Ironville is the site of the Penfield Homestead Museum and was once the center of a thriving iron industry.
Attendance is free of charge, but advance registration is required. Reservations may be made by calling AARCH at 834-9328.
Adirondack Architectural Heritage (AARCH) is the private, non-profit, historic preservation organization for the Adirondack Park region. This is one of over fifty events in our annual series highlighting the region’s vast architectural legacy. For more information on membership and our complete program schedule contact AARCH at (518) 834-9328 or visit our website at www.aarch.org.
You see it everywhere and you don’t even know it. Some even call it “National Park Service Rustic“, but we know it as Adirondack.
Thanks to a Cultural Tourism Grant from the Arts & Business Council of New York, Adironcack Architectural Heritage of Keeseville was able to organzize and promote what may be a once-in-a-lifetime tour of some of the Adirondack’s most special places.
For four days tour private and public camps of the Adirondacks, led by experts in the field of architectural history and preservation, and local historians. The tour includes meals, local transportation, and accommodations.
Did I mention there was a fee? It’s not cheap: $1400 Per person/Double Occupancy, $1700 Single Occupancy. But this, as mentioned above, includes meals, transportation from Albany International Airport to Minnowbrook Conference Center in Blue Mountain Lake, and accommodations.
Though built as a private camp, Minnowbrook became an executive retreat for a chemical company during the 1940’s. In 1953 it was given to Syracuse University, who used the 28-acre property for educational conferences and workshops. Following a devastating fire in 1988, the school dedicated themselves to rebuilding the center while respecting the history and architecture of the original. The lodge that occupies the site today is reminiscent of the opulence that came before it, incorporating rustic artistry with modern luxuries.
The lodging is always part of any experience, and Minnowbrook is pretty cool. Plus, there is a limit of 30 for this trip.
The itinerary for the tour is as follows:
Friday – Pick-up at Albany International and transport to Minnowbrook. Dinner and lecture.
Mitch wrote: February 21 & 22 2009 Cool Adirondack Info
FROZEN FIRE & LIGHTS – Inlet, NY
Sat & Sun:
ADIRONDACK BANK NY State Championship SLED DOG RACES Both Days beginning at 9:00 AM. Start/Finish Line behind Murdock Trucking/Cindy’s Tanning & Fitness Center, Limekiln Road (near The Ole Barn). Races will run until they run of of teams.
Saturday:
BOOK SALE 11:00 AM-3:00 PM at the Inlet Public Library.
BONFIRE begins at Noon with free cocoa & donuts at Fern Park.
INLET PTP SKATING PARTY 1:00-3:00 PM with music & refreshments at Fern Park.
NOAH’S ARK ANIMAL WORKSHOP 2:30-5:30 PM at the Inlet Town Hall. Make your own stuffed animal with the Inlet Youth Commission.
BOOK SALE begins at 5:00 PM with free hot dogs & cocoa at Arrowhead Park.
FIREWORKS over the frozen snow & ice begins at 7:00 PM at Arrowhead Park.
WINE & CHOCOLATE SAMPLING after the fireworks at Matt’s Draft House.
Sunday:
SLED DOG AWARDS CEREMONY after the races at the Start/Finish Line.
Always:
Free Sledding, Ice Skating, Snowshoeing & Cross-country Skiing at Fern Park (ice skate, snowshoe & ski rentals available locally, bring your own sled)
Those sleds are flying! Here’s video from last year:
VICs COMBINE SKI AND SNOWSHOE FESTIVALS TO ONE DAY; OFFERS AGENCYWIDE PROGRAMS ON KING HOLIDAY WEEKEND
PAUL SMITHS, NY – The Adirondack Park Agency Visitor Interpretive Centers (VICs) at Paul Smiths and Newcomb will combine three popular festivals into one Agencywide festival on the Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, creating the Chilly Ski & Snowshoe Festival from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17 at both facilities.
"Obviously given the state's severe economic crisis, tough choices need to be made, but to cut funding that is actually proven to stimulate economic activity and generate revenue not only for business and local government, but also state government, seems to be the wrong approach."
"The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters. "
"If there's one thing I truly hope comes out of this medal, I hope more kids and more people get out and try these sports that we love to do here in the North Country."
"Black Mountain is the tallest peak between Lake George and Lake Champlain and contains an old fire tower that is currently used by the DEC Forest Rangers for communications equipment."
"The four persons who contributed to the 20 natural history posts to-date on this blog decided to contribute their blog writing time to other more established blogs."
"Past the small Adirondack towns of Wilmington and Ausable Forks, awaiting those who maintain the vision and possess the desire for true traditional ascents, stand the granite playgrounds of Potter and Silver Lake Mountain."
"When we reached the mountain, the temperature was in the low-30s but the rain had not quite turned to snow (as the forecast had predicted) and we were stuck with a wet, sleet-filled, pea soup kind of afternoon ahead of us."
"The problem is the United States has the reputation of being among one of the most unfriendly countries when it comes to international visitors, so this almost seems like one more way we are unwelcoming."
"The fee element of the plan is controversial as some business travel organizations argue that imposing a fee would dissuade, rather than promote, inbound travel."
