This year’s Lake Placid Film Festival (LPFF) is a mixture of adventure and nostalgia as it enters its second year in its autumn time slot.

In 2018, the Adirondack Film Society made the decision to move the film festival from June to October to be able to draw from a larger pool of festival entries. Now it has extended to a five-day format (October 23-27) with extra benefits for the viewing public.

This year Saranac Lake’s Hotel Saranac is hosting a kick-off LPFF film trailer viewing party with a cash bar, light food fare, and silent auction. This is a wonderful chance to be able to decide if it’s more cost-effective to buy single tickets or buy the full festival pass.

LPFF Co-Founder and Adirondack Film Society Creative Advisor Russell Banks will be honored with a gala at the High Peaks Resort. Banks and Kathleen Carroll co-founded the Lake Placid Film Forum 19 years ago. With Carrol’s numerous contacts as a 30-year veteran film critic for the New York Daily News, the Film Forum ebbed and flowed over the years. Carrol was honored the previous year while Banks contributions will be the highlight of this year’s gala.

There is more than one film my family is looking forward to seeing. We are long and diehard fans of Lou Costello and hope to be sitting in a theatre with his daughter Chris. Just in time for Halloween, Chris Costello will be on-site for a special Saturday screening of Abbott and Costello meet Frankenstein. She is the author of the biography Lou’s on First highlighting her family history with a comedy icon.

The Your Shorts Are Showing competition is a festival highlight every year. A jury selects entries for four sessions throughout the weekend. Prizes and accolades are presented on Sunday at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts.

This year’s closing performance is a film dedicated to the Saranac Lake Ice Palace. Director Mark Burns will be on the red carpet for the world premiere of “Ice Palace: A Love Letter” as well as stay for the following Q&A. His film pays homage to a slice of Americana seemingly unchanged since 1898.

There are also other special events such as wine tastings, brewery tastings, musical acts, special showings, and a special Adventure Film selection. Single tickets are $15, Epic Adventure pass is $45, and a festival pass is $119. Some discounts are available for hospitality and theatre partners.