The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee has chosen Tom Catillaz as its 2020 Grand Marshal for the Gala Parade on February 8th.

Catillaz was born in December 1954, the third child of Bunnie and Joe Catillaz. He attended St. Bernards, St. Pius, North Country Community College, and SUNY Geneseo. He has held most of the leadership positions in the Lions Club and is a member of the Village Board, on which he has served for 18 years. Catillaz is also a past Mayor of Saranac Lake for seven years. He has three children, Mallory, Thomas and Zachary, and lives with his spouse, Joann. He is employed at Hyde Fuel in Saranac Lake.

The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee, formally known as the Society for Promotion of Winter Carnival, Saranac Lake, Inc., is a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) 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. The 2020 Winter Carnival will take place January 31 – February 9.