This year “Doonesbury” cartoonist Garry Trudeau has designed two buttons for the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. There is usually one button each year, so the double edition is a rarity.

Using this year’s Winter Carnival theme “Superheroes and Villains,” Trudeau’s illustrations show “Doonesbury” characters Zonker as a superhero on one button and Duke as a villain on the other button.  Trudeau, who was raised in Saranac Lake, has created the Winter Carnival button design since 1981 to benefit the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, first held in 1897.

The buttons will be for sale at merchants throughout the Village of Saranac Lake and by mail order in the near future.  More information about when they go on sale and locations selling them will be announced soon. The buttons cost $4 each.  The buttons will also be sold during Winter Carnival.

Winter Carnival buttons are one of the longest-running traditions at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. The buttons are collected by residents and visitors every year and have a devoted following of those who enjoy capturing a piece of Winter Carnival history.

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee, formally known as the Society for Promotion of Winter Carnival is a not-for-profit organization of volunteers dedicated to planning and presenting an annual mid-winter festival.  This 10-day, communitywide event traces its roots to a one-day Winter Carnival held in 1897 by the Pontiac Club.

The Carnival honors its heritage every year by building an Ice Palace from blocks of ice harvested from Lake Flower’s Pontiac Bay, where carnival events have been traditionally held for generations.  For more information, visit the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival website at www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com.  The 2016 Winter Carnival will take place February 5 – 14.

You can learn more about “Doonesbury” at doonesbury.slate.com.

Photos: Double Edition 2016 Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Buttons by Garry Trudeau (provided).