Paul Post
By Paul Post
Paul and Pattie Harkness are just the kind of people former Mayor Bob Blais envisioned coming to Lake George when Charles R. Wood Festival Commons first opened nearly a decade ago.
“This is my first time here. My wife made me come,” he said, smiling, while sampling tasty products at the June 24-25 Adirondack Wine & Food Festival.
“This kind of event is on my bucket list,” Pattie said. “So I thought we’d start in Lake George. I saw it on Facebook.”
The festival is one of 16 major events scheduled for the Commons this year, which have a combined economic impact in the tens of millions of dollars, according to local officials. Also, they attract and expose first-time visitors such as the Harknesses, who live near Rochester, to everything the Lake George region has to offer, which quite often results in repeat visits, further fueling the area’s vital tourism and hospitality industry.
The Wine & Food Festival alone drew more than 7,000 people from three dozen states, generating more than 10,000 overnight stays with an economic impact approaching $5 million, organizers said. More than 120 vendors provided wine, liquor, craft beer and artisan foods.
“Because it’s Lake George and it’s the kickoff to summer, people are specifically coming to attend this festival, but then they make a vacation out of it,” said Sasha Pardy, festival founder and Adirondack Winery co-owner. “They’re here for a week, two weeks or even longer in a lot of cases. More than half our visitors are from four hours away.”
The town and village of Lake George and Warren County purchased the 12.5-acre former Gaslight Village property from the Charles R. Wood Foundation in 2008, paid for with grant money and donations from three conservation groups—the Lake George Association, Fund for Lake George and Lake George Land Conservancy.
In addition to event space, the $12.5 million project featured a large environmental component with creation of an eco-friendly wetlands area, complete with nature trails, that keeps harmful sediments and nutrients from reaching the lake. This, too, helps the economy by preserving the lake’s clear, clean water that makes Lake George such a desirable place to visit for boating, fishing and other types of outdoor recreation, officials say.
Blais, who retired as mayor this spring after 52 years in office, is now in charge of bringing attractions to Festival Commons in his new job as village director of special events. At one time, Lake George was basically a two- or at best three-month summer resort town. People stopped coming after Labor Day and didn’t return until school let out in late June.
“We built this place to extend our season,” Blais said. “It’s proven to be a huge catalyst. Special events bring people to Lake George that may not otherwise have decided to come here. Americade, the Wine Festival, Car Show (Adirondack Nationals), Garlic & Pepper Festival and Kris Kringle Christmas Festival, they’re the reason that people are now coming here on the shoulder seasons.”
“Who ever would have thought that we would have an Ice Castle here in January and February drawing close to 70,000 people?” he said. “That never would have happened without Wood Park. The Ice Castles people have told us the location in Lake George next to a main highway (Route 9) is their number one location.”
This summer’s offerings include a Box Off for the ADK boxing event (July 22), Lake George Arts and Crafts Festival (July 28-29), Shriner’s Circus (Aug. 6) and Rock the Lake music concert (Aug. 12). Boxing matches are sanctioned by the New York State Boxing Association.
“It just shows you the variety of attractions outside of the big music festivals we have,” Blais said. “One of the greatest things you can say about this is that all of the events we have hosted to date have chosen to return again.”
Warren County has a 68 percent ownership stake in the park while the village, which purchased the town’s share, owns the rest.
Event owners pay a rental fee to use the festival space, all of which is put back into the park for ongoing maintenance and improvements. For example, a children’s play area is scheduled for upgrades this year.
Rental fees, totaling more than $100,000, are expected to exceed maintenance costs for the first time this year, and such revenue should grow as new and different types of events are added to the lineup. Plans are already in the works for a more than week-long circus next summer.
Don and Michele Jarvis, of South Hadley, Massachusetts, epitomize the type of Lake George visitor that boosts the economy by patronizing all kinds of local businesses.
The Adirondack Wine & Food Festival marked the start of a week-long camping vacation for them.
The Wine & Food Festival gives a tremendous boost to local vendors such as Bryn Reynolds of Moreau, a retired police officer-turned-artist (Dark Mountain Arts) who specializes in pet and people portraits along with colorful landscapes.
“Most of my work has to do with nature, the Adirondacks, the mountains,” he said. “What better place to showcase it than right here in the village of Lake George? It’s a phenomenal way to meet new customers, make contacts for possible custom drawings and get my artwork out there a little more.”
The festival provides a significant financial benefit to an important nonprofit. This year, for the fourth time, the festival donated a portion of all ticket sales to Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Southern Adirondacks, which provides mentorship, tutoring, and experiences to youth in Warren, Washington and northern Saratoga counties.
Last year the festival raised more than $23,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters and this year’s goal was even higher.
“When the Adirondack Wine & Food Festival began years ago it was a game changer for the village, providing a major event on that weekend after the official start of summer,” said Amanda Metzger, Lake George Chamber of Commerce marketing director. “It brings thousands to the Lake George area who stay in hotels, dine at restaurants, go shopping and enjoy our attractions. In addition it garners media coverage and influences attention on social media, helping to spread awareness of our destination.
The Festival helped put Charles R. Wood Park Festival Commons on the map.”
For more information about Festival Commons events visit festivalcommons.com or lakegeorgechamber.com.