Adirondack Festivals LLC has a long list of  vendors slated for this year’s Adirondack Wine & Food Festival set for June 24-25 at Charles R. Wood Festival Commons in Lake George Village.

“This festival celebrates the bounty of amazing craft beverages and locally made foods that New York has to offer and we’re excited to report that we will have more vendors and variety than ever before,” said Sasha Pardy, co-owner and president of the festival’s presenting sponsor, Adirondack Winery of Lake George.

The vendor list includes 23 wineries, eight distilleries, four breweries, three cideries, 23 artisan food vendors, six specialty vendors, eight food trucks, one local restaurant and a weekend full of culinary demonstrations provided by the SUNY Adirondack culinary students, she said.

“Where else can you discover your new favorite locally made wine, beer, vodka, cider, cheese, salsa, olive oil, garlic sauce, hot pepper jelly, kettle corn or ice cream all in one place? Attendees also love that our food trucks offer a variety of cuisine from classic barbecue and gourmet burgers to empanadas and gyros,” said Pardy.

Festival tasting-ticket holders receive a souvenir festival logo wine glass at entry to use to sample from the hundreds of craft beverages and artisan foods vendors will be offering. Attendees also receive a complementary welcome bag and festival program and tasting guide to navigate their way through the festival and take notes on the products they’ve sampled.

The Adirondack Thunder welcomed 101,883 fans into the Glens Falls Civic Center during the 2016-17 regular season, some 13,253 more fans than the 2015-16 season, team officials reported.

According to the organization, Adirondack was one of 11 ECHL teams to see attendance increase from 2015-16 to 2016-17. The team’s 15 percent attendance increase was the largest in the ECHL this season.

“We’re thrilled with the fan support we’ve received this season, leading to three sellout nights at the Civic Center,” team President Brian Petrovek said. “The energy in our building has continued to grow and our players and coaches feel it and are impacted by it. We can’t thank our fans enough for their support and passion in creating a fantastic atmosphere for our team to play in as we begin what we hope is a long and successful playoff run.”

The Thunder saw an average of 368 more fans on a per game basis during the 2016-17 season, bolstered by three sellouts, up from one last season, officials said. The team had two crowds of greater than 5,000 fans, including a franchise record 5,135 fans on Feb. 25.

Officials said the attendance growth began with season ticket sales as the Thunder ranked tied for first in the ECHL with a 97 percent season ticket renewal rate and second in new, full season tickets. Adirondack has already sold over 100 new full season tickets for the 2017-18 season.

By R.J. DeLuke

The commercial real estate market in the in the Glens Falls/Lake George area is doing fairly well and for brokers in the field there is a feeling of optimism.

Most recent evidence was the sale of The Mill of Glens Falls which closed recently, brokered by Mark Levack, owner of Levack Real Estate in Glens Falls.

It has been purchased by Mark Rosen of Dawn Homes Management LLC in Albany and Marc Paquin of Cass Hill Development Co. in Clifton Park.

Levack said the owners “are excited to be in Glens Falls” and they received approval from the city in early April to add 18 apartments, bringing the total number of apartments in the six-story complex to 65. The second floor of the structure was never developed.

Space on the first floor, which also is vacant, was designed for retail or restaurant use.

Levack said there were three parties of interest that made offers for The Mill, among them Rosen and Paquin.

Feigenbaum Cleaners, one of the oldest dry cleaning businesses in New York state, is celebrating its centennial anniversary.

The company was started in Glens Falls, where it is still headquartered, in 1917 by Herman Feigenbaum and his wife Jennie, both emigrants from Austria-Hungary. They met and married in New York City in 1909.

The Glens Falls shop is at 89 1/2 Bay St., and there is a Queensbury shop at 118 Quaker Road, in Quaker Plaza. Other shops are at 33 Railroad Place in Saratoga Springs and at Wilton Square, 3039 Route 50, and there is one in Latham.

“After working as a tailor for years in the crowded garment factories of New York’s Lower East Side, Herman decided to leave New York City to purchase a tailor shop in Whitehall,” said Todd Feigenbaum, the third-generation owner.

After more than six years as executive director of the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce, Michael Consuelo, CHME (certified hospitality marketing executive) is retiring.

Consuelo’s departure will be at the end of the Chamber’s fiscal year, Sept. 30.

The board of directors has launched a search for a new executive director.

“This has been a very difficult decision for me to make,” Consuelo said. “Leading the Chamber has been such a wonderful job. I am sorry I did not get involved in Chamber life a long time ago.”

Consuelo, who resides in Lake George, has worked in the hospitality industry–primarily in hotels and resorts–for most of his career. He has worked for companies such as Hyatt Hotels, Marriott, and the Walt Disney Company. Locally, he assisted in the opening of the Great Escape Lodge.

The local tourism industry is the second largest economic driver in Warren County, behind health care.

By R.J. DeLuke

“It’s great to see the revitalization in the region, especially in the city of Glens Falls,” said Andrew Kennedy, president and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth (CEG) leading off his remarks at the annual EDC Warren County economic outlook breakfast at The Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls on March 22.

CEG is the regional economic development organization for the greater Capital Region and New York’s Tech Valley that includes Warren County. He was one of three speakers at the event, each of them with talking points about how public/private partnership and collaboration have helped–and can continue to be a vital part of–local economic development.

Kennedy outlined the services his agency can provide, such as helping attract new business and investment, supporting programs that allow businesses to thrive and preparing communities for development opportunities when they arrive.

Among the specific programs Kennedy viewed as important was the Business Growth Solutions program for small to medium-sized companies in the manufacturing and technology sectors across several industries. CEG team members and third-party partners help businesses find new revenues and increase profitability.

He said it has had a $40 million impact on the area’s economy.

Another highlighted program was Talent Connect, a new program that helps employers recruit and retain skilled workers. It also identifies jobs that are emerging and helps create a skilled workforce for them

“We like to be that sort of connective tissue, that one-stop shop,” for assisting businesses, said Kennedy.