Saranac Lake artists are opening their workspaces to the public for additional weekends this year in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Saranac Lake ArtWorks’ popular Studio Tours.
The tours are an opportunity to learn about each artist; see works in progress; and watch artists demonstrate their techniques in a wide variety of styles, subjects, and media including painting, pastel, ceramics, printmaking, woodcarving, fused glass, photography, fiber arts, and more.
Coming to the Adirondacks as a visitor for a week at a time, it felt as if I was always rushing to a trailhead or a boat launch or a fishing hole. I rigorously, almost militarily, mapped out my schedule to include hikes that must be completed and waterways that must be paddled, and heaven forbid that anything should get in the way of these forced, forested marches.
You miss a lot that way. For example, on each trip to the Upper Works for a crack at peaks like Marshall and Cliff, I would drive Blue Ridge Road from the Northway toward Newcomb without noticing its splendid array of creeks, waterfalls and feathery green tamaracks.
Although commercial steam-boating began well over 200 years ago, it was in 1817 that Lake George began to utilize the service as a means to connect its small shoreline settlements. Now 200 years later, The Lake George Steamboat Company is still operating pleasure cruises along the shores of Lake George.
After the Civil War the steamboat company became part of the Delaware and Hudson Railroad. This merger allowed passengers traveling between New York City to Canada to take the railroad from Glens Falls to Lake George and then cross the lake to Ticonderoga for the continuation of their train journey.
Through the Great Depression the business slowly declined until World War II brought the commercial side of the business to a close. The business was downsized and changed hands before landing with Captain Wilbur Dow. After renovating and rebuilding the traditional steamboats, the Lake George Steamboat Company passenger service was reinvented and is still owned and operated by members of the Dow family. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondack Research Consortium has announced the third of its Women in Leadership Series Workshops: “Women in the Arts and Humanities.”
The workshop is scheduled for 10 am to 2:30 pm, on Wednesday, June 21st at the VIEW in Old Forge, NY.
The purpose of this workshop is to discuss challenges and opportunities for women in the arts and humanities by looking at trends in a broad and regional scale. The goal is to develop recommendations for future actions and research needs through facilitated discussions. The program includes a morning panel discussion with invited professionals working in the arts and humanities, lunch, and a facilitated afternoon discussion with all attendees.
» Continue Reading.
One of the most popular stars of vaudeville more than a century ago was a native of Lewis County who capitalized on peoples’ love of laughing at themselves. An eloquent speaker with perfect diction, he rose to fame portraying simple farm folks and other characters. It was humor based close to home, for he was born and raised in Turin, a township whose population today remains under 800. While traveling the United States, he returned frequently to visit friends and family, while also performing in the North Country.
He was known to all as Neil Litchfield, but some sleuthing was necessary initially to uncover his story, for he at times went by the names Allen and Cornelius (the latter of which “Neil” was extracted from). They all proved to be one and the same person — Cornelius Allen Litchfield.
He was born in April 1855, educated in Lewis County schools, and attended Cornell University in Ithaca, about 100 miles south of his hometown. College opened up a world of possibilities, and it was there that Neil discovered and developed a deep interest in elocution, defined as “the skill of clear and expressive speech, especially of distinct pronunciation and articulation.” This became his passion, and during his college years, particularly as a junior and senior, he conducted numerous public readings in northern and central New York. » Continue Reading.
AdkAction is organizing a new arts festival in Keeseville. The first Keeseville Plein Air Festival is scheduled to take place from Thursday, July 13th to Sunday, July 16th.
The arts festival will showcase Keeseville’s natural landscape and historic architecture. AdkAction hopes to attract a wide range of artists to the festival, which in turn will assist the community’s revitalization.
The Adirondack History Museum opened for its 2017 season with a reception celebrating its new art show, “A Sense of Place: Photography of the High Peaks Region.”
“Our way of seeing and being in the Adirondacks has changed in many ways since the early days of settling and visiting the region. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries photography was about documenting progress and presence. Photographers today are seeking silence and solitude,” Exhibit Curator Dan Keegan said in statement sent to the press.
Soundwaves has announced a 2017 summer concert series at Ballard Park in Westport, to be held on Thursday evenings at 7:30 pm from July 6th to July 27th, 2017.
This summer’s program will feature four musicians celebrating the diverse genres of bluegrass, folk, jazz and experimental music. This is the fourth season curated by Westport resident and Grammy Award Winning musician Taylor Haskins. These concerts are free of charge. » Continue Reading.
In the summer of 2015, while driving my beat-up Toyota truck through the back roads of northern Clinton and Franklin counties documenting the Great Dannemora Prison Break, I kept thinking that I had been swallowed whole by a tabloid news story, or maybe a trashy pulp novel, that refused to end. The setting was the rainy, gloomy Gothic woods of the northern Adirondack foothills. The characters all seemed to come straight from central casting.
There were the two brutal killers, David Sweat and Richard Matt, who had pulled off an escape that instantly drew comparisons with the film The Shawshank Redemption, digging and cutting their way out of one of the toughest prisons in the world. There was a brash, swaggering Governor Andrew Cuomo, who barnstormed through an active crime scene with a film crew in tow. There was the sad-sack, defeated-looking prison warden Steve Racette, the poor bastard on whose watch the impossible had occurred. » Continue Reading.
The 16th Lake Placid Film Forum takes place this week, bringing a blend of international films, screenings, workshops, and master class programs to the Olympic village. According to the Adirondack Film Society’s Operations Manager Fred Balzac, the June 7-11, 2017 event will kick off with a thank you to Lake Placid.
“We are presenting a free screening of the film ‘Eddie the Eagle’ on Wednesday,” says Balzac. “Eddie trained in Lake Placid and we want to celebrate the town’s Olympic roots. We have Larry Stone, a ski jumping coach, as a special guest. This free screening is supported by the town and village of Lake Placid.”
Around the year 2000, The Lake Placid Film Forum went through a restructuring phase with the loss of corporate funding and the nature of the economy. The organizing committee revamped the event into a monthly film series. Due to popular demand, the Film Forum was added back into the schedule and has been growing ever since. » Continue Reading.
TAUNY (Traditional Arts in Upstate New York) is holding an opening reception for their latest exhibit, “You’ll See Our Tracks: Raquette River Dam Stories” on Saturday, June 10, 2017 .
The Raquette River, which flows from Raquette Lake to the St. Lawrence River, is one of the most heavily dammed rivers in New York State.
From 2014 to 2016, TAUNY partnered with the Raquette River Blueway Corridor Group, the Village of Potsdam, and Watertown PBS to document the stories of people involved in or significantly affected by the construction of the hydroelectric dams and powerhouses along the Raquette River. » Continue Reading.
The Sunday Rock Legacy Project (SRLP) is a collaborative venture of three organizations — Colton Historical Society, Colton-Pierrepont Central School, and Grasse River Players — who come together annually to pursue projects of historical, educational, and theatrical interest. Each year volunteers produce a series of experiences, under a unifying theme, designed to entertain and educate. They rely upon grants and the support of businesses, families, and individuals to make programs possible.
The 2017 project, in partnership with North Country Public Radio (NCPR), focuses on past and present businesses and the people in the Town of Colton. NCPR’s North Country at Work project explores the work history of the Adirondack North Country. Photos and associated stories collected in April are being incorporated into a variety of activities. A second opportunity in Colton has been scheduled with NCPR for July 17 so more people can attend. » Continue Reading.
As part of this summer’s Poke-O-Moonshine Fire Tower Centennial (1917-2017), The Friends of Poke-O-Moonshine and the 1719 Block Gallery of Keeseville will be sponsoring a juried art exhibition of works related to the mountain, its human and natural history, and its fire tower.
The show will open on July 28 and run for a month, closing with the presentation of awards on September first. 2D works of art, including works on paper or canvas and photography, are eligible for entry. There will be cash prizes for 1st , 2nd and 3rd places. The deadline for entry is July 1. » Continue Reading.
Stephanie Ratcliffe, The Wild Center’s Executive Director, has received Clarkson University’s highest community service honor, the Bertrand H. Snell Award, at a dinner hosted by Clarkson President Tony Collins and University trustees.
The Bertrand H. Snell Award was created by the Clarkson board of trustees in 1981 to recognize individuals of outstanding merit and to honor Snell’s significant contributions to the University, the North Country, and the nation. Snell, the congressman who introduced the original St. Lawrence Seaway legislation in 1917, was a Clarkson trustee for 47 years. » Continue Reading.
On Friday, May 26, the newly renamed Adirondack Experience, The Museum on Blue Mountain Lake will open for its 60th season. A new Life in the Adirondacks exhibition, an interactive Jefferson Project at Lake George exhibition, new dining options presented by Well Dressed Food, and a pumpkin festival will join the museum’s regular schedule of fairs, special events, workshops, and artisans-in-residence programs.
With a grand opening set for Saturday, July 1, museum officials are calling the Life in the Adirondacks exhibit “the most ambitious new exhibition in the museum’s history.” It occupies the former Roads and Rails building, where the 19,000-square-foot, $8-million interactive exhibit is expected to serve the starting point for visitors. » Continue Reading.
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