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.

A report on hotel occupancy in Warren County says that despite a weaker June, Warren County has seen strong year-to-date and summer performance, with July occupancy at 73 percent and August occupancy at 80 percent.
Hannah Smith, senior consultant with STR, presented “The State of the Warren County Hotel Industry”recently at the Lake Luzerne Town Hall.
Founded in 1985, STR provides premium data benchmarking, analytics and marketplace insights for global hospitality sectors.

By Susan E. Campbell
The Adirondack Regional Chamber of Commerce will relocate from 136 Glen St., its home since 2009, to 68 Warren St. on Dec. 1.
The new, larger headquarters offers some amenities that translate to benefits for staff, members and visitors alike. These include a large conference room, more parking and an elevator to the second-floor offices.
“First of all, we have been extremely happy with our landlords at Glen Street,” said ARCC President and CEO Michael Bittel. “Peter and Suzanne Hoffman have been wonderful supporters of the Chamber and we thank them for that.”
The new landlords at the former Genpak LLC building are Fitzgerald Morris Baker Firth PC, law partners who purchased the structure and moved their practice there last year.

By Rachel Phillips
A new Colorize paint store has opened up in Queensbury.
Colorize is a paint and paint-related store, catering to everyone from do-it-yourselfers to professional painters. Though the shops specialize in selling Benjamin Moore paints, they also sell Sirca and Gemini brand lacquers and coatings targeted toward cabinetry.
The stores also offer home installation of their Graber window treatments, as well. Colorize employs a full-time decorator who helps customers select colors and products to meet their needs, and is available to visit a customer’s home.

By Andrea Palmer
Whisper Boutique has relocated to 14 Ridge Street. It was at 28 Ridge St. for the last three years.
At the former site “we had a major flood when a hot water heater exploded in one of the apartments upstairs,” said Nathalie Leland, owner-operator of the downtown clothing boutique. “It ended up being perfect timing. Someone had reached out to me about the space at 14 Ridge St. opening up.”
Leland worked for Leland Paper briefly before deciding to open her own store.
“When I was in college, I purchased a vinyl cutting machine. I bought it to make things for myself, but then my friends wanted me to make things for them too. I ended up creating a business out of it,” said Leland.

By Rachel Phillips
Grey Ghost Bicycles is operating out of a new location at 76 Lawrence St. in Glens Falls.
The shop sells road and mountain bikes, and bicycles for children, as well as e-bikes. It also has a bicycle fitting studio, where customers are assisted in finding their most comfortable and efficient position on a bike, while also helping them find the correct size. The shop employs anywhere from two to five employees, depending on the season.