On Friday I hiked Grace Peak (formerly East Dix) from Route 73 in Keene Valley. Look for the stone bridge that crosses the Boquet River, there is small parking area right after the bridge. The herd path starts along the South side of the river and continues along the North and South Fork. The path is unmarked but very easy to follow. This part of the Dix Mountain wilderness is beautiful open forest with mostly flat terrain. To reach the summit you can take the slide or continue along the herd path to the col between Grace and Carson (South Dix).
The Adirondack Museum will present its 27th annual Rustic Furniture Fair from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14, with a comprehensive look at traditional and contemporary uses of the rustic aesthetic.
The museum’s festival celebrates rustic creations presented by nearly 50 of today’s artisans and artists, chosen by the museum for their unique interpretations of the genre, as expressed in hand-crafted furniture, household furnishings, and Adirondack paintings. Entrance to the fair is included with general museum admission.
All across the museum’s campus, rustic makers will talk with visitors about their design processes, raw materials, and tools, and they will also have creations available for purchase. » Continue Reading.
Raymond Scott, the electronic music pioneer, composer of film scores and classic cartoon music as well as jazz suites for big bands, and whose music will be performed at this year’s Lake George Jazz Weekend, is said to have been one of most lasting influences upon downtown, avant-garde rock composer John Zorn.
As it happens, some of the musicians who have played and recorded with Zorn and his shifting collective of jazz, rock and classical performers will also be at this year’s festival, which will be held September 13 and 14 in Shepard Park.
They include trumpeter Steve Bernstein, who has put together a combo called SexMob to play the music of Nino Rota, the composer who scored Fellini’s most famous films, and drummer Billy Martin, who replaced Anton Fier as the percussionist in the legendary Lounge Lizards. » Continue Reading.
It must have taken great courage, the kind needed to overcome the natural fear of rejection and isolation, for the first woman and the first person of color invited to join the board of the Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks.
For one hundred years, from 1901 until 2001, those directing the work of the Association had been entirely white and mostly male. So had the boards and staffs of most environmental organizations in the Adirondacks, in the entire state and, I imagine, in the country. I hope we were all warm and welcoming of these courageous individuals when they first joined. Their experience and character made a difference.
The recent conference in Newcomb at the Adirondack Interpretive Center, “Toward a More Diverse Adirondacks,” brought the reality of courage, fear of rejection and isolation to everybody’s heart. It required everyone participating to re-examine assumptions. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations today applaud diversity and are trying to find ways to walk that talk and be more diverse. This recruitment is challenging, but what this conference made clear is that it is even harder to welcome, include, accept, and embrace difference. » Continue Reading.
In 1935, Hans and Oscar Hall, German-born brothers with extensive European and American hotel culinary and management experience, purchased the Araho Hotel property and began a long period of home-away-home customer service lasting until shortly after 2006. The main hotel building, which they named Holls Inn, was architecturally the same as the hotel built by Charles O’Hara in 1923 and years later would be expanded. The Araho Hotel was located on the south shore of Fourth Lake in the town of Inlet on a tract previously owned by Astral Oil (later Standard Oil) Brooklyn millionaire Charles Pratt. Pratt’s Camp, built in the 1870s, was among the first on the Fulton Chain. » Continue Reading.
The Wild Center announced today the acquisition of 50 acres of Raquette River front property made possible by a group of supporters. The new acquisition adjoins the Center’s current 31-acre site and includes significant river-frontage on the Raquette River, a seasonal building and wetland habitat.
“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for The Wild Center,” said Board Chairman and co-founder Obie Clifford in a statement announcing the acquisition. “We had hoped for years to acquire this piece of property to add to our dreams for our campus. Although we didn’t anticipate the property coming on the market so soon, we are tremendously grateful to the generous supporters who joined in pooling their resources to make this purchase possible.” » Continue Reading.
The term hobo means different things to different people conjuring up images of the Depression, freight jumping, and an independent spirit. For my family it brings up my grandfather’s stories as an orphaned runaway immigrant living on the streets of Brooklyn. His stories were colorful and glossed over a hard street life. After spending a brief time on the rails, he lied about his age to join the military where he would recall the first time he ate a meal until he was full. Years later he was able help others and always fed anyone that passed by or knocked on the door.
With Farm2Fork and the HoboFest, Labor Day weekend in Saranac Lake brings together three elements that my grandfather would love: fresh food, music and railroads. » Continue Reading.
The Adirondacks have a long tradition as a place for healing, the most prominent example being the thousands who came to “take the cure” for tuberculosis at the Trudeau Sanatorium in Saranac Lake during the first half of the 20th century.
Not as well known was how the arts were used as a important part of the patients’ treatment and recovery, a process that lead to the establishment of the creative arts therapies. More recently, the benefits of arts was dramatically demonstrated when music used as a critical part of Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford’s ability to regain her speech following her having been shot in the head during an attempted assassination January 2011. » Continue Reading.
Alas, the best laid plans… I am finally here at Thacher Camp on Indian Point of Raquette Lake for two weeks. I had grand ideas of endless writing and to prepare, I had copied a treasure trove of my research files onto a 32 gigabyte flash drive and borrowed an old laptop from a friend. Then I discovered on my arrival that the flash drive is dead.
What to do? I began to think back to the precious few letters that I have which were written by George Hornell Thacher while sitting in the 1878 cabin, somewhere not far from this cabin in which I sit today. He probably wrote on paper with pen or pencil under the soft glow of an oil lamp, whereas I am here with pen and paper under the pulsating glow of the Humphrey three-mantel gas chandelier that hangs above our dining table. » Continue Reading.
I’ve learned so much about the history and culture of my state (NY) and local communities in which I reside (Buffalo NY and Piercefield NY in the Adirondack Mountains) through the traditional music of these places.
Similarly, my interest in local and state history has informed my understanding and appreciation of the music of our forebears. Before mass media came into the home, you got your music as you got your food – from someplace local, mostly. The newspaper, perhaps. Travelling shows, yes. But also from people in your community. Family members, neighbors, coworkers. What did they sing about? And what can those long-forgotten songs tell us about a community? » Continue Reading.
Beginning on Thursday, August 28th, artists will be found creating their works at View’s Plein Air Paint Out along the Fulton Chain, the Moose River, at the Farmer’s Market or in Old Forge. Visitors to View during regular hours on Saturday, August 30th can see the Adirondacks National Exhibition of American Watercolors, preview the Annual Art Auction items and peruse the consignments works on sale.
At 5:30pm on August 30th, the View will hold its annual art auction. Over eighty original works of art, by the likes of Judy Soprano, Martha Deming, Catherine O’Neill, Stephen Fletcher and more, will be available. In addition to the auction there will be a raffle of a basket filled with over $1,400 worth of prizes, including an original painting by Joyce Hanson. » Continue Reading.
Paul Smith’s College and SUNY Adirondack have signed a dual admissions agreement, making it easier for students in the Southeastern Adirondacks to earn a bachelor’s degree in recreation or hospitality.
Students who opt into the program will simultaneously enroll in both colleges. Upon completion of their associate degree from SUNY Adirondack, they can transfer into one of two bachelor’s degree programs at Paul Smith’s: hotel, resort and tourism management or recreation, adventure education and leisure management. » Continue Reading.
August 21st through the 24th nearly 80 artists from Washington, DC to Maine, Quebec and Ontario, will be converging on Saranac Lake for the 6th Annual Adirondack Plein Air Festival.
Beautiful August weather (fingers crossed) and all the aspects of our region: mountains, lakes, bogs, waterfalls, woodland trails, panoramic views, rivers, farm land, “Great Camps”, historic sites and our small communities are all part of the attraction.
The other, if you haven’t noticed, is the growing popularity of plein air painting. The Festival concludes with a fantastic Show & Sale on Sunday, Aug 24th, in the Town Hall in Saranac Lake from 12 – 3 pm. Over 200 wet paintings will be on display and available for purchase. » Continue Reading.
For the fourth year the Lake George Music Festival is providing guests and residents live concerts, workshops and outreach events throughout the Lake George community this August 14-21.
According to Lake George Music Festival President Alexander Lombard there will be a variety of events over the August 14-21 festival. This year Lombard has brought in over 70 young professional musicians to participate in the open rehearsals, chamber concerts and workshops around Lake George. In addition there are new activities such as a formal collaboration at The Sembrich in Bolton Landing on August 16 and a late (9-11 pm) casual show at the Lake George Boathouse Restaurant on the 18th. » Continue Reading.
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