Posts Tagged ‘Travel-Tourism’

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Adirondack Museum Goes to the Dogs

The Adirondack Museum will once again offer the “Dog Days of Summer” on August 2, 2008 featuring canine demonstrations, programs, and activities. One highlight is demonstrations of Skijoring dry land training, but there will also be a pooch parade and history presentations reflecting the role of dogs in the Adirondacks. Here are the details from the Museum’s press office:

The event will include a few simple rules and regulations for doggies and their people: dogs must be leashed at all times; owners must clean up after their pets – special bags will be available; dogs will only be allowed on the grounds – not in the exhibit buildings; Doggie Day Care will be available throughout the day at no charge, with the understanding that dogs cannot be left for more than an hour; poorly behaved or aggressive dogs will be asked to leave the museum grounds with their owners.

Curator Hallie Bond will offer a richly illustrated program, “Dog Days in the Adirondacks” in the museum’s Auditorium at 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Bond will share the adventures and exploits of Scotty, Gardie, Dandy, Fritz, Jack and Lucy – historic Adirondack characters whose stories have never been told – because they were dogs.

“Dog Days” demonstrations will include “Agility” at 11:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon featuring a variety of dogs going through their paces on an agility/obstacle course featuring hurdles, weave poles, and tunnels. “Dry Land Training for Skijoring” will be demonstrated at 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.

Skijoring is a winter dog- or horse-powered sport popularized in North America and derived from the Scandinavian sport of pulka. It involves a horse or from one to three dogs hitched directly to a human being on skis. Skijoring was a demonstration sport in the 1928 Winter Olympics.

While skijoring behind a dog, the person wears a hip harness with a clip for attaching a lead, which is attached to the harness worn by the animal. The dog provides extra power to the skier who uses either a classic cross-country technique, or the faster skate skiing technique.

Any dog over the age of one year and in general good health can pull a skijorer, assuming they are physically able to do so. The classic northern breeds, such as Siberian and Alaskan Huskies, Malamutes, or Inuit dogs take to skijoring with glee. However, any pet dog is capable of enjoying this and many cross-breeds are seen in harness.

The dogs are taught the classic “mushing” commands to start running (hike), turn (gee and haw), and stop. Training is best done on foot, before the person straps on their skis, to avoid being pulled into objects, like trees or half-frozen creeks!

The “Dog Days” dry-land demonstrations will include: Bikejoring – dogs and a bicyclist working together; Canicross – dogs and a runner working together; and Cart or Scooter – dogs pulling a two or three-wheeled rig. Betsy McGettigan, Grace McDonnell, and Amelia and Royal McDonnell (two up-and-coming young skijorers) will be the presenters.

Museum visitors and their pets are invited to participate in the Rustic Agility Course from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and join the gala narrated Pooch Parade at 2:00 p.m. The 2007 parade featured a who’s who of dog breeds. Not to be missed!

For information call (518) 352-7311, or visit www.adirondackmuseum.org.


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Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Fort Ticonderoga Facing Financial Ruin

Fort Ticonderoga President Peter S. Paine Jr. has suggested in a memo forwarded to the Plattsburgh Press Republican that the historic site (a veteran of the French and Indian and American Revolutionary wars as well as the War of 1812) has seven options to avoid permanent closure, none of them good.

Paine wrote in the memo that “the fort is running through its available endowment funds to pay the Mars Education Center bills, and, in the absence of a major infusion of funds, the fort will be essentially broke by the end of 2008.”

His options include applying for new short-term loans (perhaps from the Essex County Industrial Development Agency), banking on a new capital campaign to raise $3 million to $5 million (Paine had said the Fort needed 2.5 million), asking the state for a bailout or to take over ownership of the fort, selling some of the fort’s property or collections (it holds paintings worth millions, including Thomas Cole’s 1831 “Ruins of Fort Ticonderoga,” but its ownership is in dispute) or closing for an indefinite period until the finances are sorted out.

Paine’s proposals come after a year of chaos at the fort began when Deborah Mars, a Ticonderoga native married to the billionaire co-owner of the Mars candy company Forrest Mars Jr., bailed on their long-time support for the fort just before completion of the new $23 million Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center. The Mars paid for nearly all of the new building’s construction but left before it was finished leaving Fort Ti about a million dollars in debt. When the building bearing their name opened this month, they didn’t show. Mr. Mars said disagreements with fort’s Executive Director Nicholas Westbrook were the reason why. Paine replaced Deborah Mars as the fort’s president.

A newly released study of Revolution War and War of 1812 sites by the National Park Service [pdf] points to the problem of private ownership of some America’s most important heritage sites:

Nonprofit organizations dedicated to preserving, maintaining, and interpreting their historic properties own all or portions of 100 Principal Sites [identified by the report]. Ownership of four Principal Sites is unknown currently. Private owners still control most of the Principal Sites, especially the battlefields and associated properties made up of large land areas. Privately owned sites or portions of sites are without any known form of enforceable legal protection. Many private owners maintain and care for their historic properties, but without legally mandated protection, the properties could be damaged or destroyed at any time.

Fort Ticonderoga had already been identified in the report as a Priority I (“these sites need immediate preservation or may be lost by 2017″) facing a “medium” level of threat. The threat is real for the already economically depressed Adirondack region of New York State, and the locals are restless.

A Short History of Fort Carillon / Fort Ticonderoga

The fort located at the north-south choke-point between Lake George and Lake Champlain was ordered built by French Governor-General Vaudreuil (the French Governor of Canada) as the southernmost fort of the French Empire in the New World as a bulwark in anticipation of attacks on Fort St. Frederic and the French settlements at today’s Crown Point, New York (currently being excavated) and Chimney Point, Vermont. Named Fort Carillon, it was built by soldiers and settlers in 1755-56. The following year French General Montcalm used Carillon as a base to attack British Fort William Henry at the southern end of Lake George. In 1758, British General Abercromby led an overwhelming British and Colonial Army in a attack on the fort that ended disastrously. American colonial forces under Benedict Arnold and Ethan Allen took the poorly manned fort in the opening engagements of the American Revolution without a fight in 1775. It was retaken by Gentleman Johnny Burgoyne in 1777. Native Americans from the Algonquin, French Mohawk, Huron, and Nippissings are among those associated with the history of the fort.

It is considered one of America’s oldest heritage tourism sites with tourists arriving in numbers in the 1830s (by way of comparison, the Hasbrouck House, George Washington’s headquarters at Newburgh, NY, became the first historic house museum in the United States in 1850). In 1783, George Washington visited the Fort with New York’s Governor Clinton. Following the Revolution New York State granted the Fort and its surrounding grounds to Columbia and Union Colleges. In 1791 future presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison both visited the fort.

William Ferris Pell purchased 546 acres containing the ruined fort in 1820, but it wasn’t opened to the public until 1908. The non-profit Fort Ticonderoga Association took control in the 1930s and members of the Pell family formally loaned many of the paintings and artifacts to the fort in the 1940s. Mount Independence, the high ground on the Vermont side of Lake Champlain where many colonial troops were encamped during occupation of the fort is under the care of the Vermont Division for Historic Preservation. The ruins at nearby Crown Point are a New York State Historic Site.

This post also appeared at New York History, the new blog covering historical news and views from the Empire State.


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Friday, July 25, 2008

Adirondack Artist Tour Includes 12 Jay Studios Saturday

This press release regarding the upcoming Jay Studio Tour is forwarded for your information:

The village of Jay, with its picturesque New England style village green and quaint covered bridge, transforms itself Saturday, July 26th into a town wide artist’s colony open to the public. Over the years, this very unique community has become a haven for the creative spirit. With it’s astonishing views, good studio spaces, and welcoming and tolerant philosophy, artists and crafts people have found a nurturing and supportive home in this village among the High Peaks.

For one day, July 26th from 10 to 6 PM, 12 of Jay’s studios will be open to the public. The tour is organized to follow a map that winds from village to farmland and mountaintop and showcases Jay’s physical beauty as well as the talents of her residents.

At Young’s Gallery, Sue Young will be demonstrating raku at 11 and 3 o’clock. Raku is a Japanese firing technique that was “Americanized” in the 1950s to produce glazes with a lustrous appearance. Terry Young will be making paper using plant materials from his garden and cotton linters. Terry will also be hand binding his book “Twenty Ways to See Whiteface” in the afternoon. There will be ample opportunity to engage both artists in a discussion of their work and technique. The gallery also features work by both Sue (traditional pottery) and Terry (paintings and clay sculpture) as well as many other North Country artists.

The newest addition to the Village Green in Jay is The Amos and Julie Ward Theater. The building will be open; Holly Carey’s quilts will be hanging in the theater space and there will be a gallery of work from the JEMS Saturday Artists’ Series. Holly’s Carey does primarily bed quilts, machine pieced and quilted. Her affinity for color and texture inspires her traditional patterns

Next door to the theater is the Village Green Gallery, a one-day collaborative Gallery effort by photographer Nadine McLaughlin, Philadelphia ceramicist Joan Marie Turbeck and painter Joan Turbek. Nadine’s sensitive photos of local landscapes and animals are currently the featured exhibit in the Amos and Julia Ward Theatre next to the Gallery. She will be showcasing her books of original poetry, cards, and prints in both venues. Joan Turbek’s illustrative watercolors will be shown and Joan Marie Turbek will contribute several pieces of clay sculpture highlighting her whimsical and provocative take on vegetables.

The Jay Craft Center, home, studio and craft shop of Lee Kazanis and Cheri Cross, will introduce guest potter Julia Geronski. Julia will be demonstrating wheel throwing and press molding techniques.

Opening his studio for the second year will be Bill Evans. Located on Rt 9, the building which houses both Bill’s gallery space and living area has been in renovation since 2006. Bill’s landscapes of the Adirondacks are well known and highly respected; he has work hanging at The Birch Store and Skylight Gallery in Keene Valley. Bill will be showing primarily oil landscapes-many of local scenes. This is a unique opportunity for a once a year look into the creative process.

Buttons Buttons is a working design studio producing pillows and decorative items made from vintage and antique textiles and buttons. Designer Barbara Smith will be introducing her line of evening bags created from a special collection of rare and unusual antique materials. This year, the studio tour will feature the grand opening of “Ben Lacy’s Cabin”-a handmade one room 1920’s cabin. Moved from Lacy Road in Keene and reconstructed in Jay, it houses the Buttons Buttons showroom for the Adirondack Collection of pillows.

Grace Pothast at Gallery in the Glen will be demonstrating watercolor and egg tempera in the converted milk house of the dairy farm she shares with her family. Grace will also feature a special children’s studio where the youngsters can create their own work of art.

Nearly at the top of the Jay Mt. Road you will find W.P. ‘Pete’ Jennerjahn’s studio. Pete will discuss and illustrate the differences and similarities between the various mediums: graphite, watercolor, pastels, oils and acrylic. It is a breath-taking location and a chance to see a large body of work representing a lifetime of experience.

Located on the Trumbull’s Corner Road in one of Jay’s most interesting homes is Swallowtail Studio where Wayne Ignatuck designs and builds furniture. Wayne recently completed a collaboration with architect David Childs. The child’s desk they built is being shown at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake. Recently, Wayne has been expanding the definition of rustic furniture. Work presently in the studio will include furniture custom designed for the newly rebuilt Lake Placid Lodge.

Paul’s Café at Standard Falls Iris Garden will feature a special day of baker Nancy Garrand’s Chocolate Extravaganza: every and anything chocolate. The café has become the home of the Land of Makebelieve artifacts and mementoes.

Nationally recognized photographer Nathan Farb rounds out the Studio Tour this year. Nathan’s books include “The Adirondacks”, “100 Years of the Adirondacks”, and “Adirondack Wilderness”. He will be previewing another book entitled “Summer of Love’, and showing excerpts from a video project from Arkansas that he has been working on. The studio is handicapped accessible and will be American Sign Language interpreted. Nathan will be available to sign his books and discuss his photography.

The Tour Map is available at all of the tour locations, many businesses in the area and for download at the tour website: Jaystudiotour.com.


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Thursday, July 17, 2008

Adirondack Murray Lecture at the Adirondack Museum

From a recent Adirondack Museum Press release:

On July 5, 1870, the New York Daily Tribune reported that “nature tourists” were flooding to the Adirondack Mountains. “Last summer, Mr. Murray’s book drew a throng of pleasure-seekers into the lake region,” the paper noted.

“Mr. Murray” was the Reverend William H.H. Murray, a New England clergyman, author of Adventures in the Wilderness: or Camp-life in the Adirondacks, and one of the all-time most passionate boosters of the outdoor life in the North Country.

On Monday, July 21, 2008, Dr. Terrance Young will offer an illustrated program entitled “Into the Wild: William H.H. Murray and the Beginning of Camping in America” at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York.

Part of the museum’s Monday Evening Lecture series, the illustrated presentation will be held in the museum’s auditorium at 7:30 p.m. There is no charge for museum members. Admission is $4.00 for non-members.

Dr. Young will explain how Reverend Murray’s book was the first to present Adirondack camping as a form of pilgrimage to wild nature. Every tourist and would-be camper who came to the Adirondacks in the summers of 1869 and 1870 had a copy of Adventures in the Wilderness tucked into his carpetbag, rucksack, or bundle. The result was the transformation of this previously remote and quiet region into an accessible, bustling destination.

Young is an Associate Professor of Geography at the California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Ca. He teaches and writes about the historical geography of American recreation, and its relationship to the natural environment. He is the author of Building San Francisco’s Parks, 1850 – 1930, a book about the city’s municipal park system.

Dr. Young is currently working on a book about the history and meaning of American recreational camping entitled Heading Out: American Camping Since 1869.


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Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Best Bets: A Fourth of July Adirondacks Guide

On the advice of a reader we offer a list of Fourth of July Events around the Adirondack Region.

Here are the best of the day’s events, a full list of fireworks and other celebrations follows:

Wild Center Film (July 4) Premiering of A Matter of Degrees a film shot for the Flammer Theater’s wide screen. It explores the epic story of the last 250,000 years in the Adirondacks, including ice ages, extinctions and depictions of the forces that shaped the world around the Museum. Shot on location in Greenland and the Adirondacks. Free with paid admission. Shows several times daily. Free with paid admission.

Zucchini Brothers at the Wild Center (July 4) The Zucchini Brothers will give a free performance at 12 and 1pm today. The Zucchini Brothers offer entertainment for the young and young at heart, and have been called the Beatles of kids’ music. The concert will be held outside in the tent.

Independence Day Ski Jump (July 4,MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumping Complex, Lake Placid) a great opportunity to see a ski jump competition in the middle of the summer. Adults – $12 / Juniors/Seniors – $8 . The price includes entry to the competition as well as use of the chairlift and a ride up the 26-story elevator to the top of the 120 meter ski jump tower.

I Love New York Horse Show (July 1-6, Lake Placid) World class riders and horses compete in championship Hunter and Jumper competitions for over $470,000 in prize money. Admission to the horse show is $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekend days. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. For a behind the scenes look at the shows, take a guided walking tour offered each weekday at 11:30 AM.

32nd Annual Adirondack Distance Run (July 4, 7:30 am) Lake George to Bolton Landing 10 Mile USATF Championship Race. (518) 792-7396.

Ticonderoga Village “Best Fourth In The North” Fair and Fireworks (July 4) Site of the first victory of the American Revolution. Declaration of Independence readings on Fort Ticonderoga grounds throughout the day.

Schroon Lake Beach Concert and Fireworks (July 4) Hosted by Word of Life, this celebration features a concert and one of the largest fireworks shows in the Adirondacks at dusk.

Lake Placid “Set the Night to Music” (July 4) A day of celebration activities with a parade down Main Street and fireworks set to music. 5:00-6:00, parade through Main Street, 6:30-7:30 Sinfonietta Concert – “American Salute” patriotic music, free, open air concert lakeside on Main Street, Mirror Lake Beach fireworks at 9:45 pm.

Jay Fire Department Independence Day Celebration (July 4) Parade at noon, entertainment throughout the day with food, beverages, games, pull tabs, and bingo. The band “Lucid” will be in the parade and will be playing all day. Fireworks will be at dusk. Each year they try to top themselves with a little bigger display.

Other Fireworks Shows

July 3rd

Glens Falls Summer Jam and Fireworks in East Field (6:30 pm, fireworks at 10 pm)
Hague Elvis Live Show & Fireworks (Town Park, 8 pm; fireworks at dusk)

July 4th

Bolton Landing Fireworks (7 pm)
Indian Lake Celebration (6:30 pm, fireworks at dusk)
Inlet Fireworks over Fourth Lake (1 pm Ping Pong Drop, fireworks at dusk)
Lake George Village Fireworks (9:30 pm)
Long Lake Independence Day Celebration (9:30 am – fireworks at dusk)
Old Forge 4th Of July Annual Fireworks & Band Concert (7 pm; fireworks at dusk)
Queensbury Great Escape Fireworks Show (dusk)
Raquette Lake (fireworks at dusk)

July 5th

AuSable Club, Keene Valley, (around 8:30-9pm)
Corinth NY Independence Day Celebration (fireworks at dusk)
Minerva Day (full days of events, fireworks, garage sales and more)
North Creek – Independence Day Celebration in Ski Bowl Park (12 pm, fireworks at dusk)
Northville Fireworks (10 pm)

July 7th

Athol Concert and Fireworks In Veteran’s Memorial Field (7 pm)

There you go – you ask – we deliver.


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Monday, June 30, 2008

Do The Rich Confiscate Adirondack Natural Beauty?

Barbara Ehrenreich has an interesting article in the Nation this month about the what she calls considers “the general rule, which has been in effect since sometime in the 1990s: if a place is truly beautiful, you can’t afford to be there. All right, I’m sure there are still exceptions — a few scenic spots not yet eaten up by mansions. But they’re going fast.”

The places she describes, Key West and the Grand Tetons, have remarkable similarities to our own Adirondacks. Here is her description of Key West:

At some point in the ’90s, the rich started pouring in. You’d see them on the small planes coming down from Miami — taut-skinned, linen-clad and impatient. They drove house prices into the seven-figure range. They encouraged restaurants to charge upward of $30 for an entree. They tore down working-class tiki bars to make room for their waterfront “condotels.”

That’s something we’ve all seen in our area. But, as Ehrenreich points out, it comes at a cost, even for the wealthy:

Ultimately, the plutocratic takeover of rural America has a downside for the wealthy too. The more expensive a resort town gets, the farther its workers have to commute to keep it functioning. And if your heart doesn’t bleed for the dishwasher or landscaper who commutes two to four hours a day, at least shed a tear for the wealthy vacationer who gets stuck in the ensuing traffic. It’s bumper to bumper westbound out of Telluride, Colorado, every day at 5, or eastbound on Route 1 out of Key West, for the Lexuses as well as the beat-up old pickup trucks.

Or a place may simply run out of workers. Monroe County, which includes Key West, has seen more than 2,000 workers leave since the 2000 Census, a loss the Los Angeles Times calls “a body blow to the service-oriented economy of a county with only 75,000 residents and 2.25 million overnight visitors a year.” Among those driven out by rents of more than $1,600 for a one-bedroom apartment are many of Key West’s wait staff, hotel housekeepers, gardeners, plumbers and handymen. No matter how much money you have, everything takes longer — from getting a toilet fixed to getting a fish sandwich at Pepe’s.

It’s an interesting read, and one that echoes our own problems with affordable housing, low wages, and disappearing Adirondack style.


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Friday, June 27, 2008

Largest Event at Fort Ticonderoga in Modern Times

It’s a big year at Fort Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain. First it’s the 100th anniversary of their opening with a dedication attended by President William Howard Taft. The Pell family began it’s restoration that year, a project that is continuing with the completion of the Deborah Clarke Mars Education Center that will open on July 6.

This year also marks the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War of the Battle of Carillon, which was designated as the I Love NY “signature event,” and the opening of the new exhibit “Face of War; Triumph and Tragedy at Ticonderoga, 1758-1759,” the first new exhibit in many years. It details the lives of soldiers taken directly from their diaries and letters.

On the weekend of June 28 and 29th, over 2,000 re-enactors from all over the world are expected to make camp assembling to commemorate and celebrate the battle when Major General Abercromby’s British Army, along with Native Americans and American Militia was defeated by a much smaller force defending the fort under the Marquis de Montcalm. The focal point of the re-enactment of the 1758 battle will be a replica of the log breastwork that was a focal point of repeated and deadly British frontal attacks.

On July 5, the British and the Black Watch will be remembered with a parade to the Scottish Cairn, accompanied by clans, bagpipes and Scots from Canada, England and the United States. On July 8, there will be a parade led by the Fort Ticonderoga Fife and Drum Corps to the Montcalm Cross in remembrance of the French victory.


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Friday, June 27, 2008

Adirondack Museum’s 21st Annual Rustic Fair

From the Adirondack Museum:

Talented artists from the Adirondack Park and across the United States bring highly prized craftsmanship and creative expression to one-of-a-kind rustic designs exhibited and sold at the Adirondack Museum’s 21st Annual Rustic Fair. This is the largest event of its kind in the Northeast!

Enjoy delicious food, and great music by the Lime Hollow Boys (Saturday) and traditional fiddling by Frank Orsini (Sunday). See demonstrations of rustic furniture making, carving, and painting throughout the weekend (September 6 and 7, 2008 10 am – 4 pm.

Here is a list of the 2008 Rustic Artisans

Gene Albright
Refined Rustics

Fred Beckhorn
Natural Form Furniture

Barney & Susan Bellinger
Sampson Bog Studio

Tom Benware
Adirondack Woodwright

William Betrus
Adirondack Custom Twig

Steve Bowers
Bald Mountain Rustics

Nathan Broomfield
Zoya Woodworks

Charley Brown
Mote Fly Rustic

Matthew Burnett *
Matt Burnett Paintings

Gary Casagrain
Casagrain Studio & Gallery

Steve & Gwenn Chisholm
High Ridge Rustics

Jim Clark *

Rhea Costello
Paintings by Rhea

Reid Crosby
Branch & Burl

David Daby
Adirondack Rustic Creations

Brant Davis
Gone Wild Creations, Inc.

Jay Dawson
Major Pieces

Russ DeFonce & Deb Jones
Bookman Rustic Furniture

Jeanne Dupre
Adirondack Watercolors

Dave Engelhardt *
Angelheardt Designs

Douglas Francis
Aurora Rustics

John Gallis
Norsemen Designs West

Russ Gleaves & Bill Coffey

Brian Gluck
Rustic Cedar

Brad Greenwood
Greenwood Designs

Barry & Matthew Gregson
Adirondack Rustics Gallery

Eric Gulbrandsen
Trout Pond Rustics

Wayne Hall *

Christopher Hawver
Woodsmith Rustic Furniture

Jason Henderson
J.R. Henderson Designs

Randy Holden
Elegantly Twisted

Michael Hutton *
The Rustic and Painted Garden

Wayne Ignatuk
Swallowtail Studio

Michael Kazlo
Adirondack Mountain Rustic

Phil Kellogg
Adirondack Rustic Furnishings

Morris Kopels
Glens Falls Rustic Studio

Janice and Jonathan Kostreva
Bear View Ridge Rustic Furniture and Lighting

Gary Krauss *
Native Woods

Paul Lakata
Rustic Artwork

Donald Moss
Don Moss Rustic

Anto Parseghian
Abiding Branches

Bill Perkins
Sleeping Bear Twig Furniture

Thomas Phillips
Thomas Phillips Rustic Furniture

Rick & Denise Pratt
Around the Bend

Daniel Quinn
Nature’s Design

Kevin & Jeannie Ridgeway
Unique Woodworks

Michael Ringer
St. Lawrence Gallery

Jim Schreiner
Great Sacandaga Designs

Steven Shroder
Stickworks Custom Furniture

Charles Phinney & Stan Steeves
Harvest Hardwoods

Robert Stump
Robert Stump Studios

Jamie Sutliff
Cold River Gallery

Jonathan Swartwout *
Fisher of the Berry

John Taylor
Rustic Furniture by John and Marjorie Taylor

Jim Thomson
Thomson Rustic Furnishings

Jane Voorhees
Jane Voorhees, Custom Furnishings and Accessories

Judd Weisberg

Tom Welsh
The Rustic Homestead

Bim Willow
Willow Works, Inc.

* Indicates a new artisan


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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Adirondack Museum Suspends Lake Placid Project

Just arrived from the Adirondack Museum:

Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y. The Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York announced today that it has suspended work on its plan to erect a building on Main Street in Lake Placid, N.Y. to house a new branch of the museum and its existing store.

Museum Director Caroline Welsh said that the decision was made very reluctantly and only after detailed consideration of financial and other implications of the project for the museum. The decision was made at a special meeting of the museum’s Board of Trustees on June 23, 2008.

According to John Fritzinger, Chairman of the Board, the decision is the result of the cumulative impact of several key factors.

These include the extended period required to obtain the permits needed to proceed; continuing litigation over those permits that offers the prospect of even further delay and expense; escalation in costs related to the construction and operation of the museum; and the difficulty of raising the necessary capital in the face of deteriorating and uncertain financial markets, a strained economy, and the potential effects of high gas prices on museum visitation.

Ms. Welsh said the Board of Trustees is most appreciative of the strong support the Adirondack Museum has received for the Lake Placid branch from Mayor Jamie Rogers, Town of North Elba Supervisor Robi Politi, and many members of the community. She expressed the thanks of the museum to all for all their help and enthusiasm as the project moved forward.

Welsh also noted that the Board is particularly grateful for outstanding work by architects David Childs and Roger Duffy of Skidmore Owings & Merrill in creating an exciting design for the proposed new museum.

The Lake Placid project was part of the Adirondack Museum’s overall strategic plan that includes the goal of projecting the museum’s presence beyond Blue Mountain Lake. The Director emphasized that the goal remains in place. The museum recognizes the importance of Lake Placid as a cultural hub of the Adirondacks and a premier resort destination. Welsh said that the
museum will continue to deliver its programs and collections to the residents of and visitors to the Tri-Lakes area.

Welsh announced that the Adirondack Museum would partner with the Lake Placid Center for the Arts to offer annual exhibits at the Center’s facility. “Rustic Tomorrow” will be the first exhibition. A show of unique rustic furniture created through the collaboration of noteworthy architects, designers, and craftsmen, the exhibit premiered at the museum’s Blue Mountain Lake campus in May, and will travel to LPCA in late fall.

She also confirmed that museum outreach programs will continue in the village, including the popular Lake Placid “Cabin Fever Sunday” programs.


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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

39th Annual Lake Placid Horse Show

Lake Placid, NY – The 39th annual Lake Placid Horse Show opened on Tuesday at the North Elba Showgrounds in Lake Placid. The horse continues through Sunday and is followed at the same site by the 31st annual I Love New York Horse Show which runs July 1-6.

Heading the list of entries are the defending champions in the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows’ two Grandprix events-Todd Minikus of Loxahatchee, FL and Christine McCrea of East Windsor, CT.

Minikus, the 2001 U.S. Equestrian Federation (USEF) Horseman of the Year, will be looking for a second straight win in this week’s featured event, the $75,000 Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid Presented by RV Sales of Broward. McCrea will be looking to defend her title in the featured event of the I Love New York Horse Show, the $75,000 Hermès Grandprix, on Saturday, July 5.

Other past Grandprix winners entered this year include Laura Chapot, winner of the Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid in 1996 and 2004; Margie Engle, a ten-time American Grandprix Association Rider of the Year, who has been a Grandprix winner in Lake Placid six times; Kent Farrington, who won the Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid in 2005; and Molly Ashe-Cawley who won the Budweiser Grandprix of Lake Placid in 1999.

The 2008 Lake Placid Horse Show and I Love New York Horse Show sponsors includeA & M Beverages, A Placid Life, Adirondack Life, Adirondack Store, American Grandprix Association, Animal Planet, Anonymous, Bainbridge Farms LLC, Brandy Parfums, Ltd., The Brown Dog Café and Wine Bar, Budweiser, Carr-Hughes Productions, Chair 6, Champlain Valley Equipment, Charlie’s Restaurant, Charlotte Bobcats, Jane Forbes Clark, C.M. Hadfield’s Saddlery, Inc., The Cottage Café, The Country Saddler, Ltd., Crossroad’s Caterers, Crowne Plaza Resort & Golf Club, David R. Fowler Custom Tack Trunks, Deeridge Farms, Der Dau Custom Boots and Shoes, The Dutta Corp., Ecogold, Equifit, Farm and Ranch Magazine, Fox Run, Ltd., Golden Arrow Lakeside Resort, Grill 211, Mr. James Harpel, Hermès, High Peaks Resort, The Hooker Family, Horse Watch, Intercat, Inc., J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, Jake Placid Doghouse, Janney Montgomery Scott, LLC, Juliam Farm, Lake Placid/Essex County Visitors Bureau, The Leone Family, The Levy Family, Lonesome Landing Garden Center, Mirror Lake Inn, Mountain Horse, Mr. Mike’s Pizza & Pasta, Moss Communications, Bobby & Melissa Murphy, Nicola’s On Main, On a Fence Designs & Rentals, ORDA/Whiteface Mountain, The Pepsi Bottling Group, The Phillips Family, Price Chopper, Red-Kap Sales, Royal Reflections, Ruthie’s Run, RV Sales of Broward, Sam Edelman Shoes, Sand Castle Farm, Saratoga Living, Michael & Lora Schultz, Sidelines, Storm Ridge Capital LLC, Stretton Enterprises, Town of North Elba Park District, Turtle Lane Farm, The Weeks Family, The Whiteface Lodge, Woodlea Farms, WPTZ News Channel 5, and Y106.3 – Mountain Communications LLC.

Admission to the Lake Placid and I Love New York Horse Shows is $2.00 on weekdays and $5.00 on weekends. Children under the age of 12 are admitted free. Tickets are available at the gate. For more information and schedule details, please call the Lake Placid Horse Show Association at (518) 523-9625 or visit www.lakeplacidhorseshow.com.


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