Posts Tagged ‘Blue Mountain Lake’

Monday, July 20, 2009

An Adirondack Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare in the Park is a city summer tradition. People pack a picnic and a blanket and go to their local green space to watch live drama under the trees. Now the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts has taken the concept to state park scale.

The Arts Center will present 45-minute outdoor productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at parks and beaches in twelve Adirondack towns. This regional adaptation of the play is as Elizabethan as Elizabethtown.

“In the original version the nobility of a town go into the woods for a night and strip away the trappings of society and find out what it’s like to be a human being,” says Arts Center Director Stephen Svoboda. “In our production the young lovers are going to be sophisticated summer people who come up to the Adirondacks in their Gucci shoes, not expecting this rustic world. The male faries will be romanticized lumberjacks and the female fairies have a Sixties hippie feel with long flowy fabric, and really they’re sort of the embodiment of nature. Then the Mechanicals are the acting troupe in the play; in our version they’re going to be these Beatnik actors from New York City all in black with their bug spray, and since a lot of these performances will be on a lake, they’ll show up in a canoe, lost in the wilderness.”

The production is appropriate for all ages and is free. “It’s really accessible to the audience, something that our summer residents and year-round residents can relate to,” Svoboda says.

See the Arts Center’s Web site for details and locations. Here is a general schedule:

July 25th 2 pm THENDARA 

July 25th 7 pm TUPPER LAKE

July 26th 2 pm BLUE MOUNTAIN LAKE

July 26th 7 pm LONG LAKE

July 28th 7 pm OLD FORGE 

July 29th 2 pm RAQUETTE LAKE

July 30th 2 pm MINERVA

July 30th 7 pm INDIAN LAKE

July 31st 2 pm Hudson River Pavilion, NORTH CREEK

July 31st 7 pm PAUL SMITHS/SARANAC LAKE
August 1st 2 pm INLET 

August 1st 7 pm SPECULATOR


Friday, July 17, 2009

Barrels, Buckets, and Casks: Coopering at Adk Museum

Coopering is the ancient art of making casks, barrels, vats, buckets, and other circular or elliptical wooden vessels bound together by hoops. Historically, wooden barrels were used for the storage and transportation of all sorts of goods. Coopering was a valuable skill. David Salvetti will demonstrate the art of coopering at the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake on July 18, 19 and 20, 2009. The
demonstration will be held in the Mark W. Potter Education Center from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. and is included in the price of general admission.

David Salvetti’s love of woodworking began at age seven – with simple
projects such as birdhouses. In 2005, at the age of fourteen, woodworking became something more. The Salvetti family visited the Adirondack Museum in July of that year. The rustic furniture on exhibit fascinated David. Inspired by what he saw, Salvetti cut a sapling on the family’s property and built a twig chair. Another chair
followed in 2006 – winning “Best in Show” (4-H Youth Division) at the Oswego County Fair. David entered the white birch chair in the 2007 New York State Fair, Adult Arts and Crafts competition – winning another blue ribbon. David’s prize-winning rustic chair is on display at the Adirondack Museum and will become part of the permanent collection.

David Salvetti’s exploration of traditional woodworking techniques has led him to build his own shed, making shingles to cover the structure by hand. He has learned to make watertight wooden buckets without nails, adhesives, or modern sealants. He demonstrates his skills at Fort Ontario State Historic Site in Oswego, N.Y.

Coopering is part of a summer-long series of craft and trade demonstrations at the Adirondack Museum. To see a complete listing, visit the museum’s web site www.adirondackmuseum.org and click on “Special Events.”

Photo: Wooden sap bucket, ca. 1800s. Collection of the Adirondack Museum.


Wednesday, July 1, 2009

"In Search of the Picturesque" at Adirondack Museum

Nineteenth century armchair travelers and well-to-do American tourists eagerly read published travel guides and narratives, which often featured paintings reproduced as engravings. These images helped advance an artist’s reputation and marketability, and also shaped travelers’ expectations of the Adirondack wilderness. The Adirondack Museum‘s Chief Curator Laura Rice will lead visitors in search of the picturesque through the museum’s paintings, prints, rare maps, and photographs, many of which have never been exhibited during an illustrated program entitled “In Search of the Picturesque: Landscape and Tourism in the Adirondacks, 1820-1880” at the Adirondack Museum on Monday, July 6, 2009.

The first offering of the season in the Adirondack Museum’s Monday Evening Lecture series, the presentation will be held in the Auditorium at 7:30 p.m. There is no charge for museum members. Admission is $5.00 for non-members.

Rice will discuss how guidebook authors reinforced visual messages by using painterly language to describe scenes travelers would encounter along a given route. The visual and descriptive imagery promoted the Adirondacks as a public treasure, contributed to a national understanding of wilderness as evidence of God’s hand in creation, and fostered the development of wilderness as a national icon and reflection of the American character.

The Adirondack Museum introduced a new exhibit in 2009, “A ‘Wild, Unsettled Country’: Early Reflections of the Adirondacks,” that showcases paintings, maps, prints, and photographs illustrating the untamed Adirondack wilderness discovered by early cartographers, artists, and photographers.

Laura Rice joined the staff of the Adirondack Museum in 2003. She had previously served as a Curator, Museum Educator, and Consultant at a number of other museums. Ms. Rice holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania in American Civilization with an emphasis on Museum Studies. She is the author of the award-winning book Maryland History in Prints: 1752 – 1900, a history of the state of Maryland based on selected images in the Maryland Historical Society Print Collection.

Photo: Untitled: Wolf Jaw Mountain, by Horace Wolcott Robbins, Jr., 1863.


Monday, June 22, 2009

Summer Events at the Adirondack Museum

Summer is a great time to check out the Adirondack Museum – here are a few events you won’t want to miss. You can see all the events we write about here at Adirondack Almanack by clicking the events link at right.

Paddle Making Classes with Caleb Davis
Friday, July 10 or Friday, August 7
Make your own traditional cherry or white ash paddle in a one-day class.
9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day, including a 2-hour break for lunch on your own, and the chance to explore the museum. Limited space, pre-registration is required. $100 non-refundable fee due at registration. 518-352-7311 ext. 115.

Brown Bag Lunches
12:00 – 1:30 p.m. To reserve a space, please call 518-352-7311 ext. 181.

July 13 – “Mapping in the Adirondacks” – Join Librarian Jerry Pepper for a rare behind the scenes tour of the museum’s historic map collection.

August 3 – “A Perfect Fit: An Introduction to Adirondack Clothing” – Associate Curator Laura Cotton offers a presentation about Adirondack clothing from the museum’s textile collection.

August 31 – “Mining in the Adirondacks” – Chief Curator Laura Rice introduces the people and places of Adirondack mining through historic photographs, objects, and archaeology.

Member-Only Field Trips
Act fast to reserve your spot – spaces still remain for the following trips:

August 6 – Newton Falls – Tour one of the oldest and largest paper mills in the Adirondacks.

August 29 – St. Regis Lake – Paddle and explore St. Regis Lake once known as “the St. James of the Wilderness,” a reference to the stately Court of Queen Victoria.

September 2 – Dannemora Correctional Facility – A fascinating look at the third oldest prison in New York State.

For reservations please call 518-352-7311 ext. 181.

Visit the Special Events section of the museum’s web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org for the most up-to-date information about member-only programs and all events at the museum.


Sunday, June 21, 2009

Adirondack Center for Writing Publishing Conference

The Adirondack Center for Writing (ACW) has announced its annual Publishing Conference which will be held at the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain Lake on Saturday, July 18, 2009, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. This year’s focus is on New York State small presses.

Topics will include the advantages of publishing with a small press, some of which are –- writers usually do not need an agent; small presses often publish first-time authors; small presses tend to publish writing that large presses ignore; writers have more control over the final product with a small press than with large presses. Other subjects covered include how to submit your work to a small press, a process very different than with large presses, and how to find the small press that is right for you.

According to the Center’s Press release: Presenters include Mary Selden Evans, executive editor at Syracuse University Press. With more than 1,200 titles in print, SU Press consistently earns international critical acclaim and attracts award-winning authors of note. Each year Syracuse University Press publishes new and groundbreaking books in specialized areas including New York State; Robert Hershon, co-editor of Hanging Loose Press, one of the country’s oldest independent publishers. HL introduced the work of such writers as Sherman Alexie, Kimiko Hahn, Dennis Nurkse, and Cathy Park Hong, among others, and also publishes Ha Jin, Paul Violi, Jayne Cortez, Elizabeth Swados, Jack Anderson, Harvey Shapiro, Maureen Owen, Charles North – about 150 writers altogether. Rob Igoe, publisher at North Country Books, which publishes and distributes quality books about New York State and New England. Also presenting is Jeffrey Lependorf, who serves as the shared executive director to Small Press Distribution (www.spdbooks.org) and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses (www.clmp.org), both national non-profit organizations serving the community of independent literary publishers. Lastly, Bruce McPherson of McPherson & Company, which concentrates on contemporary and 20th century fiction, foreign and domestic; and for nonfiction on contemporary culture, art theory, anthropology and film studies, will be part of this exciting conference.

For a brochure with complete details or to register, contact ACW at 518-327-6278 or by email at info@adirondackcenterforwriting.org.


Thursday, June 4, 2009

Adirondack Literary Awards Ceremony June 7th

The 4th Annual Adirondack Center For Writing (ACW) Literary Awards Ceremony will be held this Sunday, June 7, in Blue Mountain Lake, 3-5 pm at the Blue Mountain Center. The Adirondack Literary Awards is a juried awards program that honors books published in or about the Adirondacks in the previous year. The event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP to ACW (phone or email) if you plan to attend.

Juried awards will be given in fiction, poetry, children’s literature, and nonfiction, plus a People’s Choice Award. ACW members are encouraged to send in their votes for their favorite book of the year via email, phone, or mail. A complete list of submissions by category is below. Voting is also permitted at the awards ceremony itself. Most of the books considered for awards are made available for purchase at the ceremony by the authors, and they are happy to sign their books. Questions may be directed to ACW at 518-327-6278, acwevents@gmail.com.

Entries of Books Published in 2008

:

Fiction –
The Wettest County in the World
, Matt Bondurant,
 Scribner


Orebed Lake, Russell Hall
, Lighthall Books
Chant
, Rick Henry, 
BlazeVOX Books


Brio, Mary Randall
, Mary Randall


Christmas in Port Davis, (Stories by multiple authors)
, RA Press


Wilder Ponds
, Kirby White, 
Fox Creek Press

;

Poetry –


Reasons to Hate the Sky, Stuart Bartow
, WordTech Editions


Threat of Pleasure
, Philip Memmer, 
Word Press



Lemon Peeled the Moment Before: New and Selected Poems 1967-2008, 
Roger Mitchell
, Ausable Press;
The Long Fault: Poems, Jay Rogoff
, Louisiana State University;



Children’s Literature

 –
Butternuts for Rexford, Tom Adessa
, SassyKat Books
March Toward the Thunder, 
Joseph Bruchac
, Dial Books


Skylar, Mary Cuffe-Perez
, Philomel Books


Adirondack Gold II: A Summer of Strangers, 
Persis Granger
, Beaver Meadow Publishing
Champlain and the Silent One, Kate Messner, 
North Country Books


Catch the Wind and Spin, Spin, Spin
, Thomas M. Schneeberger, 
PublishAmerica
When Thunder Rolls: The Underground Railroad and The Civil War
, Irene Uttendorfsky
, Spruce Gulch Press


The Adirondack Kids 8: Escape from Black Bear Mountain
, Justin and Gary VanRiper, 
Adirondack Kids Press

Photography –
In Stoddard’s Footsteps: The Adirondacks Then & Now, 
Mark Bowie and Timothy Weidner, Stories, Food, Life, Editor, Ellen Rocco
, North Country Public Radio
Historic Images of the Adirondacks, 
Compiled by Victoria Verner Sandiford
Adirondack Hotels and Inns
, Donald Williams
, Arcadia Publishing

Nonfiction

 –
Stepping Out; A Tenderfoot’s Guide to the Principles, Practices, and Pleasures of Countryside Walking, 
Eleanor Garrell Berger
, Tenderfoot Press


Forest Enterprises of the Adirondacks, 
Steven Bick
, Forest Enterprise Institute

, North Country Books


At the Mercy of the Mountains: True Stories of Survival and Tragedy in New York’s Adirondacks
, Peter Bronski
, The Lyons Press
Adirondack Attic #5
, Andy Flynn, 
Hungry Bear Publishing
One Foot Forward; Walks in Upstate New York
, Richard B. Frost, Bloated Toe Publishing
Breaking Out of Prison: a guide to consciousness, compassion, and freedom, Bernice Mennis, 
iUniverse
Log Marks on the Hudson, Richard Merrill
, Nicholas K. Burns
Echoes In These Mountains, Glenn Pearsall
, Pyramid Publishing


Adirondack Birding, John M.C. Peterson, Gary Lee, 
Adirondack Mountain Club, Lost Pond Press


Stories, Food, Life, Editor, Ellen Rocco
, North Country Public Radio


, Adirondack Museum, North Country Books


Freedom in the Wilds: An Artist in the Adirondacks, about Harold Weston, 
Syracuse University Press




Sunday, April 26, 2009

New Anthology of Essays by Elizabeth Folwell

Adirondack Life turns 40 this year. In Park years, that’s the time it took to make 6,000 46ers, add 350,000 acres to the Forest Preserve and subtract 12 paper mills (by the magazine’s own count).

Another milestone has been reached: Betsy Folwell marks 20 years with Adirondack Life — half its existence — first as an editor, now as creative director and always, foremost in many readers’ minds, as a writer.

The magazine has published a 250-page anthology of Folwell’s essays called Short Carries, and her prose is even clearer and stronger against the plain white pages of a book.

Some of Folwell’s finely-turned phrases take hold from the moment you read them; they underlie how we see this landscape as much as the granite that dictates what kind of moss, ferns and trees root here. For me, one of her most unforgettable essays is “Lessons From a Dead Loon” (July/August 1989):

“‘I thought maybe you could do something about this,’ the conservation officer told me as he laid the dead loon on the grass. A number-four snelled hook was stuck in the bird’s throat; he had drowned at the end of a fisherman’s set-line off Rock Island in Blue Mountain Lake.”

What struck me is not only that cops seek Folwell out for help, but how acutely observant she is. She knew “our diver . . . one of a pair that made the daily circuit from Lake Durant to Blue Mountain, as predictable as church bells.” She knew her bird just as she knows Elvis, the curled-lip black bear that cruises her back yard; Gerard, the old river driver; the “tow-headed tamaracks” in the October bogs; and the tourists who held a tug-of-war over a Sunday New York Times at a general store she ran one summer.

Short Carries: Essays from Adirondack Life by Elizabeth Folwell is available for $16.95 at adirondacklife.com and in North Country bookstores.


Thursday, March 26, 2009

Sweet Stuff to Do This Adirondack Weekend

Birder, Audubon field editor and field-guide author Kenn Kaufman will speak about our migratory birds at 3 p.m. Friday at the Wilton Wildlife Preserve & Park office, 80 Scout Road in Wilton. It’s outside the Blue Line, but we know some Adirondack birders who are heading south to hear Kaufman. Talk is free but seating is limited, so pre-register by calling Wild Birds Unlimited at 226-0071.

Squeaker, Louie and Squirt are celebrating their birthdays with a party at the Wild Center in Tupper Lake Sunday. At 10:30 the otters will have an Easter egg hunt, and at 2:30 they’ll eat cake. In between there’s cake for people as well as otter-related storytimes, videos and art projects.

There will be good music along the East Branch Ausable River Friday night. Crown Point’s own Silver Family plays bluegrass at the Amos and Julia Ward Theatre in Jay at 7 p.m. (admission $5). And Willsboro’s own Hugh Pool plays bluesy rock and rocking blues at the Recovery Lounge in Upper Jay at 8 p.m. (donations accepted).

Doomers like to have fun too. A new group called Tri-Lakes Transition is launching a Wake Up Film Festival on Friday with The 11th Hour, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. The documentary explores the perilous state of the planet, and how we can change course. 7 p.m. at the Saranac Lake Free Library.

In Blue Mountain Lake, the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts will hold a Ukrainian Easter Egg (Pysanky) workshop with Annette Clarke Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Our friend Betsy, who knows things, says, “It’s not for kids but the real deal with Ukrainian dyes, etc. Like batik with hot wax and cool tools but harder than you’d think.” Cost is $25. Visit the center’s Web site for more information.

It’s Maple Weekend Part II: The Far North. Festivities that began last week expand to reach the top of the state, where the trees are finally waking up. “The goal of Maple Weekend is to share the real taste of the mouth-watering maple syrup with the public while also demonstrating the various ways to make it,” the New York maple producers association says. And it’s free. For a list of participating producers, see mapleweekend.com.


Friday, February 13, 2009

Adirondack Museum Seeks Textile Artisans

The Adirondack Museum is looking for talented fiber or fabric artisans and crafters to show and sell their wares at the Adirondack Fabric and Fiber Arts Festival planned for September 12, 2009. Spinning, weaving, knitting, and quilting will take center stage for the celebration of traditional and contemporary fiber arts. The day will include demonstrations, displays, presentations, a knit-in, and much more, as well as a juried marketplace of
fiber related products for sale.

Artisans and crafters from the across the Adirondack North Country are invited to apply for a space in the marketplace. The following are eligible for consideration by the committee: high quality handspun yarns, fine needlework, embellished and multi-media art pieces, fiber tools and accessories, knitted, knotted, woven, quilted felted or other unique handcrafted items.

All work displayed and sold at the Fabric and Fiber Arts Festival must be based on traditional techniques or patterns and/or inspired by the Adirondacks.

For full information or to receive an application please contact Jessica Rubin at the Adirondack Museum, Box 99, Blue Mountain Lake, N.Y. 12812, (518) 352-7311, ext. 115, jrubin@adkmuseum.org or Micaela Hall, (518)
352-7311, ext. 128, mhall@adkmuseum.org.

All submissions must include photographs and should be received by the Adirondack Museum no later than May 1, 2009.


Thursday, December 25, 2008

Adirondack Museum Offers Virtual Exhibits

The Adirondack Museum has announced that it will offer a series of online exhibitions created especially for people who are unable to visit Blue Mountain Lake. Web exhibits can be found on the Adirondack Museum’s web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org.

December marks the launch of “Adirondack Rustic: Nature’s Art, 1876-1950,” the first web exhibit. The new online feature offers artifacts, text, and historic photographs from the special exhibition that shared the multi-faceted story of Adirondack rustic traditions.

The web exhibit examines the rich history of Adirondack rustic in three units that examine furniture and designs inspired by wilderness, share stories of local men who hand crafted rustic furniture, and explore the lives and influence of wealthy Gilded Age railroad magnates who designed and built elaborate Great Camps.

The virtual exhibition is lavishly illustrated with images of rustic furniture and historic photographs from the museum’s extensive collections. The museum’s Chief Curator Laura Rice and Web Coordinator Erin Barton developed the content of the online exhibit.

In 2009 the museum will introduce “Common Threads: 150 Years of Adirondack Quilts and Comforters” as a companion piece to the special exhibition of the same name that will open at the museum on May 22, 2009.


Friday, October 17, 2008

Adirondack Museum Celebrates Indian Lake

The Adirondack Museum set aside tomorrow (Saturday, October 18, 2008) for a day dedicated to the Town of Indian Lake, celebrating its 150th anniversary this year. The Adirondack Museum offers free admission to year-round residents of the Adirondack Park in the month of October, and is open from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

The special day will begin with a presentation by Curator Hallie Bond at 11:00 a.m. entitled “The Armchair Canoeist’s Guide to Blue Mountain Lake.” Enjoy the warmth and comfort of dry land as Bond leads a “virtual” canoe trip to some of the historic sites on the shores of the lake.

Known as the “Koh-i-noor of the smaller wilderness gems” in the 1880s, Blue Mountain Lake was the most fashionable highland resort in the northeast. The presentation will include “then” and “now” photographs of landmarks such as the Prospect House, Holland’s Blue Mountain House, the town library, the Episcopal Church, and the mighty steamboat Tuscarora.

Bond will ask the audience to reflect on the meaning of “progress” and the ups and downs of a tourist economy. She will also ask Blue Mountain Lake old-timers to help in the identification of mystery photos in the museum collection, and reminisce about days gone by.

At 1:00 p.m., Dr. Marge Bruchac will offer a program called “The Indians of Indian Lake.” The presentation will include historic anecdotes, photographs, and family histories of some of the Indians who have made their homes in the village.

Native peoples such as Sabael Benedict, Emma Meade, and the Tahamont family were involved in growing the Adirondack tourism industry, promoting and preserving herbal medicine, and even in developing the image of the Hollywood Indian. According to Bruchac, these highly visible families were not the “last of the Indians” in Indian Lake.

Dr. Marge Bruchac is a preeminent Abenaki historian. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Coordinator of Native American Studies at the University of Connecticut at Avery Point. A scholar, performer, and historical consultant on the Abenaki and other Northeastern Native peoples, Bruchac lectures and performs widely for schools, museums, and historical societies. Her 2006 book for children about the French and Indian War, Malian’s Song, was selected as an Editor’s Choice by The New York Times and was the winner of the American Folklore Society’s Aesop Award.

At 2:30 p.m. a reception will be held for all in the museum’s Visitor Center. Caroline M. Welsh, Director of the Adirondack Museum, and Barry Hutchins, Supervisor of the Town of Indian Lake, N.Y., will offer remarks. Cake, tea, and coffee will be served.

Artwork created by students at Indian Lake Central School will be displayed in the Visitor Center throughout the day.

The Adirondack Museum tells the story of the Adirondacks through exhibits, special events, classes for schools, and hands-on activities for visitors of all ages. The museum closes for the season on Sunday (October 19).


Friday, October 3, 2008

Adirondack Museum Harvest Festival 2008

Don’t miss the Adirondack Museum‘s annual Harvest Festival at Blue Mountain Lake, New York on October 4 and 5, 2008.

Each day will feature activities for the whole family from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. The Adirondack Museum offers free admission to year-round residents of the Adirondack Park in the month of October – making Harvest Festival the
perfect fall outing for Adirondackers!

Dean, Dick, and Mary Merrill will return to the museum once again to demonstrate apple pressing with an authentic steam powered cider press from the 1800s. Visitors can grind apples and press cider themselves using a hand-cranked fruit press. Everyone is invited to taste freshly made cider!

The Circle B Ranch of Chestertown, N.Y. will offer leisurely rides through the museum’s beautiful grounds in a rustic wagon. Youngsters can enjoy pony rides as well, providing a wonderful photo opportunity for parents!

John Scarlett of Little Tree Forge, Rossie, N.Y. will demonstrate traditional blacksmithing techniques throughout the day. Scarlett is known for both decorative and useful iron pieces, created using a coal-fired forge and time-honored tools.

Inspired by the glorious foliage and fruits of fall, the museum will offer pumpkin painting, apple printmaking, and the creation of one-of-kind works of art from natural materials. Join Adirondack Museum staff for creativity
and fun!

On Saturday, October 4 only, the Siver Family Bluegrass Band from Crown Point, N.Y., will play two sets of hand-clapping, toe-tapping music from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. The Siver Family band features eleven-year-old Dorothy Jane Siver, the 2007 Lake Champlain Young Fiddler of the Year.


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Adirondack Museum’s Antiques Weekend

The annual Adirondack Museum Antique’s Weekend with a show and sale on September 19, 20 and 21, 2008. According to the Adirondack Museum:

Forty leading antiques dealers from historic resort areas throughout the country will offer the finest examples of premium vintage and antique furnishings for camp, cabin, and collection in an exquisite fall setting.

For a complete listing of the antiques dealers who will exhibit at the show and sale, visit the “Exhibits & Events” section of the Adirondack Museum’s web site at www.adirondackmuseum.org .

Rod Lich, Inc. of Georgetown, Indiana, will manage the show. Rod and his wife Susan Parrett have 32 years of experience organizing premier antique shows and sales including the Pleasant Hill Antiques Show and Sale held at the Historic Shaker Village near Lexington, Kentucky. The show was featured in the June issue of Country Living Magazine. To learn more about Rod Lich, Inc., visit www.parrettlich.com .

The weekend will begin with the exclusive Antique Show Preview Benefit on September 19, 2008 from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. Browse for treasures surrounded by blazing fall foliage. Enjoy scrumptious hors d’oeuvres and beverages while supporting the museum’s exhibitions and programs. Preview Benefit tickets are $100 and include admission to the Antiques Show and Sale on Saturday and Sunday. To reserve preview tickets, please call (518) 352-7311, ext. 119.

Adult admission to the Antiques Show and Sale will be $20. Museum Members will be asked to pay a special $4.00 surcharge for the event. A shipping service will be available on both days of the show. Porters will be on site to assist with heavy or cumbersome items.

Visitors should also explore the “Annual Adirondack Mountains Antique Show” in Indian Lake, N.Y., a scenic 11-mile drive from the Adirondack Museum. Antique dealers, crafters, and artisans will display a variety of unique gifts and collectibles throughout the village. Shuttle service between venues will be provided.


Thursday, September 4, 2008

21st Annual Rustic Fair at the Adirondack Museum

Organic, natural, contemporary furniture inspired by the wilderness can be seen at the 21st Annual Rustic Fair presented by the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake. Skilled craftsmanship and unique designs in creations made of bark, twigs, branches and burls will be on display.

The Rustic Fair will be held on September 6, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and on September 7, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. More than fifty-five artisans, including six craftsmen new to the Fair, will display and sell furniture and accessories.

On Friday, September 5, the museum will host the Rustic Fair Preview Benefit, offering a special chance to meet the rustic artisans and shop for the perfect treasure for home or camp. Enjoy delectable edibles, tasty beverages, and the 1940s jazz of “Minor Swing.” All proceeds from the Rustic Preview support Adirondack Museum exhibits and programs.

Minor Swing of Potsdam, N.Y., blends American big-band swing with the exotic flare of European gypsy folk songs. The band mixes contemporary compositions with the classic Manouche (gypsy jazz) repertoire. Minor Swing includes musicians Christopher Brown, Lorie Gruneisen, Victor Caamaño, and David Katz.

Following the Preview, guests have the option to enjoy a Joint Benefit Dinner at Great Camp Sagamore at Raquette Lake. For more information or tickets to the Preview Benefit, call (518) 352-7311 ext 119. The museum will be closed on Friday, September 5 for the Preview Benefit.

The 21st Annual Rustic Fair will also include lively music, delicious food (look for North Country Kettle Corn and Ben & Jerry’s!), and demonstrations in a spectacular autumn setting. In addition, Painter/Furniture Artist Barney Bellinger of Sampson Bog Studio in Mayfield will paint an Adirondack landscape in oils in the Visitor Center throughout the Fair. Bellinger’s framed painting will be sold in a silent auction; the winner to be announced on September 7.

On Saturday, September 6, enjoy festive music by the Lime Hollow Boys. John Wolfe, Ray Gardner, Floyd Sherman and Andy White, the musicians, come from an area known as “lime hollow” in near Potsdam. The Lime Hollow Boys play country and folk music combining bass, guitar, fiddle, and harmonica. You can sample their music on the web at www.limehollowboys.com.

Sunday, September 7 will feature traditional fiddling by Frank Orsini. For many years Frank Orsini has been one of the prominent acoustic musicians on the Upstate New York music scene, playing fiddle, viola and mandolin. A sampling from Frank’s repertoire includes: Celtic music, Elizabethan or early music selections, old-time fiddle tunes from the Southern mountain tradition, New England and Canadian dance tunes, bluegrass and country classics, Cajun, and blues selections, as well as Urban and Western swing standards.

The Rustic Fair will feature works by rustic furniture artisans from the Adirondacks and other parts of New York State. There will also be craftsmen from the states of Vermont, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wyoming, Tennessee, North Carolina, California, and the Canadian Province of Ontario.

All Rustic Fair activities and demonstrations are included in the price of regular museum admission.


Thursday, August 14, 2008

American Mountain Men at the Adirondack Museum

Press release forwarded for your information:

The Adirondack Museum will host an encampment of American Mountain Men interpreters on August 15 and 16, 2008. The [event is open to the public, but the encampment is by invitation only.

Participants in the museum encampment are from the Brothers of the New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts segment of the national American Mountain Men organization.

While at the Adirondack Museum the group will interpret the lives and times of traditional mountain men with colorful demonstrations and displays of shooting, tomahawk, and knife throwing, furs, fire starting and cooking, clothing of both eastern and western mountain styles, period firearms, and more. This year’s encampment will include blacksmithing and a beaver skinning demonstration.

Mountain men are powerful symbols of America’s wild frontier. Legends about the mountain man continue to fascinate because many of the tales are true: the life of the mountain man was rough, and despite an amazing ability to survive in the wilderness, it brought him face to face with death on a regular basis.

All of the American Mountain Men activities and demonstrations are included in the price of regular museum admission.

The American Mountain Men group was founded in 1968. The association researches and studies the history, traditions, tools, and mode of living of the trappers, explorers, and traders known as the mountain men. Members continuously work for mastery of the primitive skills of both the original mountain men and Native Americans. The group prides itself on the accuracy and authenticity of its interpretation and shares the knowledge they have gained with all who are interested.



Conditions
Conditions

The Adirondack Almanack

The Adirondack Almanack is a public forum dedicated to promoting and discussing current events, history, arts, nature and outdoor recreation and other topics of interest to the Adirondacks and its communities

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.

General inquiries about the Adirondack Almanack should be directed to editor Melissa Hart. To advertise on the Adirondack Almanack, or to receive information on rates and design, please click here.
Web Services & Search Engine Optimization By: Suloff Designs

Wait! Before you go:

Catch up on all your Adirondack
news, delivered weekly to your inbox