Courtesy Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce
The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce honored two major events with its Supporting Tourism Around the Region (STAR) Awards recently: The Adirondack Wine & Food Festival and the World’s Largest Garage Sale.
John Strong, executive director of the Lake George Arts Project, was also honored with the Sapphire Award for his contributions to cultural tourism that span nearly four decades.
The Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce Events Committee established the STAR Award in 2006 to recognize excellence in travel and tourism.
The committee established the Sapphire Award in 2017 on the Chamber’s Sapphire Anniversary—its 65th year—to recognize a “gem” in the community whose efforts directly benefit the hospitality industry.
The awards were presented at the Chamber’s annual dinner in October as it celebrates its 67th year. The dinner sold out and took place at Villa Vero, catered by RGI Catering above Caffe Vero on Canada Street in the Village of Lake George.
STAR Awards
• The Adirondack Wine and Food Festival was the first of its kind in the area and one of the first successful events in the Festival Commons area of Charles R. Wood Park, Chamber officials said. The fifth annual festival took place in June with more than 6,000 in attendance.
In addition to growing attendance every year, the festival also helped raise $15,500 for the 2019 beneficiary—Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks—through a portion of ticket and merchandise sales, and other fundraising activities.
“The festival is one of a kind in the region and has been helping to build business during our shoulder season in Lake George,” said outgoing Chamber President and longtime Chamber board member Fred Vogel.
“Our goal is 7,250 people, which I think we have pretty good odds to hit,” said Adirondack Winery and Adirondack Festivals LLC Co-owner Sasha Pardy. “Definitely Lake George is a highlight of everything we do in our marketing.”
The 2020 dates are June 27 and 28.
• The World’s Largest Garage Sale has been a tradition for more than 40 years, bringing more than 5,000 vendors from around the country to the area and offering more than 5 square-miles of shopping, officials said. Attendance estimates are at about 75,000 people annually.
“This is a well-established multi-generational event,” Vogel said.
Executive Director for the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce Suzanne Tyler accepted the award on behalf of the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce.
Tyler said this past year’s was one of the most successful.
“It’s wonderful that we honor these events because they create business for Warren County and the entire region. They’re so helpful in extending our season,” said Chamber First Vice President and Events Committee Chair Janice Bartkowski-Fox.
Sapphire Award
Strong is retiring as executive director of the Lake George Arts Project at the end of the year. For 37 years he has overseen major programs including the Summer Concert Series, Lake George Jazz Weekend, Courthouse Gallery exhibition series, various art workshops, lectures, special events and more. He has also been involved with the Stony Creek Band as a musician and manager since 1973.
Lake George Town Supervisor Dennis Dickinson said Strong’s accomplishments “are far too many for me to list. He’s done so many things for so many people.”
Dickinson said his approach when establishing events was to “appeal to a wide range of people. They’re always good draws year after year.”
Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer, addressed the Chamber’s annual report.
“As the leading driver of tourism, all our activities and programs are strategically planned and executed to ensure that we are impacting overnight stays and visitor experiences while being very visible in the community,” she said.
Closing out its fiscal year, the Chamber reports that it attended 11 consumer trade shows (two more than the previous fiscal year) with the opportunity to interact with approximately 200,000 people, a 16 percent increase in reach.
The Chamber distributed 12,425 of its 70,000 printed Travel Guides specifically at the travel shows (up 25 percent over the previous fiscal year) and collected contact information from 4,514 (up 20 percent) people at these shows, which were chosen strategically to target potential visitors to the area.
Website and social media followers and impressions also saw steady growth, she said. Overall, the Chamber’s main social media impressions increased by 8 percent over the previous year, while the Adirondack Craft Beverage program social media impressions had a 31 percent increase.
The mission of Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce is to drive tourism to the Lake George region year-round while fostering a vibrant business community. The Chamber seeks to promote growth and development of its member businesses by offering networking events, educational programs, ribbon cuttings and other opportunities.
The Chamber staffs the Visitor Center on the corner of Beach Road and Canada Street in Lake George and the Adirondacks Welcome Center on the Northway between Exits 17 and 18. The Chamber typically serves more than 100,000 visitors annually. The Chamber also publishes an annual Travel Guide with a 70,000 circulation.