Community news stories come from press releases and other notices from organizations, businesses, state agencies and other groups.
Submit your contributions to Almanack Editor Melissa Hart at [email protected]
The Lake Placid Film Festival will be hosting its free featured filmmaker series this winter.
Each Wednesday at 7 p.m. starting Feb. 24, an award-winning short film will be streamed online. After the film, there will be a moderated live discussion with the director and someone from LPFF.
Each program is free of charge, but they do require you pre-register. Donations are greatly appreciated.
A choose-your-own-ski-adventureThe Barkeater Trails Alliance (BETA) invites ski enthusiasts of all ages and skill levels to participate in the first-ever Jackrabbit Rally to celebrate ski touring, the 35th anniversary of the popular Jackrabbit Trail and founding of the Adirondack Ski Touring Council, which now operates as BETA. Founded in 1986, the Jackrabbit Ski Trail traverses a variety of terrain through Keene, Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and Paul Smiths for a total of 42 miles.
The Warren County Soil and Water Conservation District is now accepting orders for its annual tree and shrub seedling sale, which means spring is well on its way. Each year, the District offers a diverse selection of low cost bare root seedlings including fruit trees, flowering shrubs, seed mixes and much more. Incorporating native woody vegetation into your landscape can be a great option for establishing pollinator and wildlife habitat, a buffer, edible fruit or strictly for the beauty.
Some highlights for this year’s sale are the new Homestead Pack which includes Elderberry, Witch Hazel, Sugar Maple, American Hazelnut and Blueberry. This pack has great farm value offering species that produce nuts, berries, homemade maple syrup, and supports beneficial insects. The sale has even more to offer this year such as wildflower seeds, bird houses, wood duck boxes, apple and pear trees, and much more!
The order deadline is March 10. The order pick up will be held on April 23 from 8:30am to 6pm at the District Office 394 Schroon River Road in Warrensburg. The order form can be found at warrenswcd.org.
For more information, contact Maren Alexander at [email protected] or (518)623-3119
New York’s State parks, historic sites, campgrounds, and trails welcomed a record-setting 78 million visitors in 2020. The milestone marks nine years of steady visitor growth and represents an overall increase of 34 percent, or more than 20 million visitors since 2011.
This increase was driven by unprecedented growth during the spring and fall seasons, as New Yorkers turned to State Parks facilities for safe, healthy outdoor recreation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Click here to learn more.
New Yorkers have a new way to explore all their state has to offer with completion of the 750-mile Empire State Trail, a year-round, multi-use recreational trail for cyclists, hikers, runners, cross-country skiers and snowshoers.
The trail runs from New York City through the Hudson and Champlain Valleys to Canada, and from Albany to Buffalo along the Erie Canal. Three-quarters of the trail is off-road. Projections call for 8.6 million people to use it each year.
Connecting 20 existing regional trails, the Empire State Trail was created by building more than 180 miles of new off-road trail and connecting 400 miles of previously disconnected, off-road trails. There are 45 gateways and trailheads along the trail, which includes signage, interpretive panels, bike racks and benches. Navigating the trail can be done through the trails web site empiretrail.ny.gov, which includes an online map and the ability to print itinerary sheets for specific trail segments. Learn more.
The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) is conducting a short survey to help refine the destination marketing message for the Lake Champlain Region.
The Lake Champlain Region comprises the towns of Keeseville, Willsboro, Essex, Lewis, Elizabethtown, Westport, Moriah/Port Henry, Crown Point, and Ticonderoga in Essex County, New York.
The survey is designed to better understand what motivates people to live, work, and play in the region. Respondents are asked questions about the quality of particular activities, such as hiking, fishing, history experiences, and dining out. One example question asks respondents to describe the Lake Champlain Region to a friend.
Champlain Area Trails (CATS) has been awarded two grants from the New York State Conservation Partnership Program (NYSCPP) totaling $63,225.
“We are thrilled to be awarded $28,500 to create a new website that will greatly improve our online presence,” said Emily Segada, CATS Operations & Communications Manager, “We’ve already reached out to designers and are working to have a much more interactive trails page among many other improvements.”
CATS has also been awarded a $34,725 grant to support their Essex Quarry Nature Preserve and Trail project. These funds will help pay transaction costs (legal, survey, staff time) and some of the trail-making expenses.
AdkAction is pleased to announce the winning video of its statewide COVID-19 Public Service Announcement (PSA) Contest: “A Vintage COVID-19 PSA,” created by Emily Kucharczyk of New Paltz High School.
“When I heard about the project from my teacher, I had a vision of the shot where I held up a bottle of cleaning spray, I just saw the vintage theme in my head and went with it,” Emily said. “I love the creative freedom that comes with making movies — it’s one of the best ways to express your art.”
Watch it here:
A conversation with new and veteran journalists on the evolving nature of journalism. Part storytelling, part conversation on how the culture of “fake news” has affected journalism today, panelists will discuss how they see the path to moving forward with a new administration vowing truth and transparency, and a distrustful population who recently painted “murder the media” on the United States Capitol walls. A peek behind the curtain of the choices journalists make daily and how it differs, or doesn’t, from the choices veteran journalists had to make. Rex Smith, editor-at-large at the Times Union of Albany, will act as moderator for the evening.
Presented by Adirondack Center for Writing and Adirondack Explorer.
When the going gets tough, Colden MacIntyre, the main character in Iron Sharpens Iron, gets tougher, taking on the Lake Placid Ironman in an effort to overcome his demons.
Iron Sharpens Iron (Heavy Lift Books, 2020) is the first novel from upstate New York author Herb Terns. Though set mainly in Lake Placid, characters roam throughout the North Country, hiking High Peaks, trail running the Tongue Mountain Range, paddling Lake George and backpacking the Northville-Lake Placid Trail. But the heart of the book is Colden’s quest to win the Ironman, and the strength of the community that helps him through.
“We tend to remember the scars we get in life,” Terns says, “but we don’t always remember all the people who help us along the way. In some ways, the story is a metaphor for the way small towns pull together to help people who need it.”
North Country’s annual Feed Back Summit will be held virtually in a two-day format, February 24-25, 2021.
How do we create a fair food system? How do we build an equitable future for the North Country? And how do we move our region toward stronger and more accessible, inclusive, nutritious, and just systems for everyone?
These questions frame this year’s summit and bring together community leaders, business owners, farmers, consumers, healthcare professionals, educators, students, and more to discuss advocacy, politics, programs, and grassroots organizing. The goal is to bring creative, scholarly, and frontline perspectives together into dynamic conversation. This year’s theme reflects the urgency of inequities that 2020 laid bare and the challenges we must meet in 2021.
For more details, or to register, visit: www.craigardan.org/events/summit2021
Pictured here: Food justice activist Karen Washington is giving the keynote address “Moving Beyond Covid” for the 2021 North Country Food Justice Summit.
Long Lake has announced their Winter Wonderland Bingo, which will feature activities and outdoor recreation in the form of a contest that will last until Feb. 28.
They will be posting specially designed bingo cards on social media, and making printed cards available at the Long Lake Town Office and at local businesses starting Feb. 12.
Participation is free, and those who partake are encouraged to complete as many activities as they can, with prizes available depending on how many activities you can complete.
Featured tasks include indoor and outdoor activities ranging from reading Adirondack books, visiting area retail stores trying out cross-country skiing, snowshoeing, ice fishing and skating and more.
Those who complete one row of bingo will receive a gift card, five random activities will win a sticker, and the completion of all 25 tasks will be able to choose from a selection of prizes, and be entered to win a gift basket featuring items from Long Lake and Raquette Lake merchants.
In order to play, cross off activities as completed and photograph the card showing the completed tasks. Submit digital photos via email or to the uploader for prizes. Submit photo proof of purchase for any meals or shopping, and any activities to [email protected] or upload them directly to https://upload.crowdriff.com/lakesbingo.
Participants are encouraged to post their photos on Instagram using hashtags : #mylonglakebingo #barkeaterbingo #YesLongLake and follow the page: www.instagram.com/mylonglake
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has announced that applications for the DEC’s cooperative Day-Old Pheasant Chick Program are now available until March 25. This program, provided through the DEC’s partnership with hunters, 4-H youth, and interested landowners. enables people to raise and release pheasants in order to enhance the state’s fall hunting opportunities.
The program began in the early 1900’s, when the State Conservation Department, the precursor of the DEC, gave out pheasant eggs and pheasant chicks to farmers and the rural youth. This tradition extends into modern times, and day old chicks are available for free to applicants that can provide a brooding facility, a covered outdoor rearing pen, and an adequate release site. Approved applicants will receive the chicks in April, May, or June.
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We publish commentary and opinion pieces from voluntary contributors, as well as news updates and event notices from area organizations. Contributors include veteran local writers, historians, naturalists, and outdoor enthusiasts from around the Adirondack region. The information, views and opinions expressed by these various authors are not necessarily those of the Adirondack Almanack or its publisher, the Adirondack Explorer.
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