The Adirondack Folk School (AFS) in Lake Luzerne, a nonprofit organization that celebrates and preserves the cultural history of the Adirondacks and promotes creativity and self-reliance by teaching the arts, crafts and traditions, has hired Terri Cerveny as executive director.

Cerveny comes to AFS after having retired to Lake Luzerne from a career in fundraising and development work with some prominent Capital Region nonprofit organizations.  

In her most recent role, Cerveny served as vice president of college relations for Union College from 2014-2019.  Prior to that, she served as senior vice president and chief development officer for the Albany Medical Center Foundation.

“We are thrilled to welcome Terri Cerveny to The Adirondack Folk School,” said 

Tanya Tobias, president of the AFS board of directors. “Terri brings a unique blend of expertise, passion for the School and what we do, and a strategic vision that aligns seamlessly with our organization’s values, goals, and plans for the future. In Terri, we have a new leader who will inspire our staff, faculty, students, and stakeholders, lead strategic planning and operations, and be the engaging voice of our school.” 

 Cerveny succeeds Scott Hayden, who led AFS for five years before moving to a nonprofit organization that serves children’s needs. 

She was selected following a search for a permanent executive director led by the board of directors of AFS.

“I’m excited to take on the role of executive director of the Adirondack Folk School where the work we do to teach the arts and crafts of the Adirondacks—from basketry to blacksmithing, to fiber arts, woodworking, and many more—will ensure the traditions of this historic region live on through our students and their children,” Cerveny said.

Ledge Rock Hill Winery has moved from their location in Corinth to at the new location at 1776 Route 9 in Lake George.

Ledge Rock Hill Winery has been specializing in craft winemaking for over a decade using high quality New York grapes and fruit infusions. 

“Ledge Rock Hill Winery is incredibly excited,” co-owners Kevin, Will, and Connor Morgan said in a statement. “We have moved from our ‘winery in the woods’ location in Corinth to beautiful Lake George. Come to our tasting room and sample our varieties of dry and sweet wines, listen to live music, and sit by the campfire.”

The winery celebrated the move with a ribbon cutting facilitated by the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce on July 1. The festivities included wine tasting, live music, food truck, giveaways, yard games and a campfire.

“The new location is beautiful and conveniently located in Lake George. We’re thrilled to have Ledge Rock Hill Winery back on our Adirondack Craft Beverage Trail Digital Passport, which now includes 13 stops,” said Lake George Regional Chamber Executive Director Gina Mintzer.

Ledge Rock Hill Winery is a family-run operation “with knowledgeable and dedicated staff, all sharing a true love and appreciation for the art of fine wine making,” the owners said. 

It was established officially as a winery in 2010 by the Akrop family and operated out of the original location in Corinth. This year, the tasting room was moved to the Lake George location.

“We specialize in limited vintage productions of hand-crafted wines made from premium grapes. We take great pride in producing wines that are custom crafted from the highest quality fruit available. The fruit is harvested from our own vineyard as well as a select few partner vineyards that have been able to consistently meet our high quality standards,” the Morgans said.

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.

A new land acquisition will allow Adirondack Adventure Center to upgrade its Lazy River Tubing Adventure on the Hudson River.

The upgrades include a private access point, a smoother and safer bus ride to and from the river, a more flexible schedule, on-river tube storage, Internet and telephone service, and trip customization for customers including a private beach and island.

The announcement was made during a ribbon cutting ceremony on  June 16, with the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“These upgrades allow us to expand our business and make it safer and more convenient for everybody to come up and experience tubing and the beauty of our area. One of the things that gets us up and going in the morning is being able to share this experience with everybody,” said owner Dane Morton. “It’s a huge deal for us. It’s really going to help us expand our business further.”

This acquisition of 165 acres of land along the Buttermilk section of the Hudson River is the first phase in a thee-phase plan to upgrade the tubing experience.

The WAIT House in Glens Falls was one of only five nonprofit organizations in New York  state to be awarded a housing grant from TD Bank as a part of the company’s Housing for Everyone program.

Warren Washington County Homeless Youth Coalition, which runs the WAIT house, was awarded a $175,000 grant, the bank announced. 

TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, awarded a total of $7 million to 37 nonprofits across the bank’s national footprint.

“The Housing for Everyone grant program underscores TD’s longstanding commitment to community enrichment, as well as the bank’s efforts to help people live with greater financial confidence through the TD Ready Commitment, TD’s corporate citizenship platform,” the company said.

WAIT House serves youths in Warren and Washington counties “who present as homeless, runaway, or street-involved.” The organization provides supportive housing and related services “necessary to live and grow emotionally, educationally, spiritually, mentally, and physically to become healthy, productive adults,” organization officials said.

As individuals and families across the country struggle with inflation and an exponential rise in rental costs, affordable housing providers face increased hardship given the growing demand for affordable rental units and emergency rental assistance.

SUNY Adirondack has developed a partnership with Russell Sage College in Troy to offer fine arts graduates seamless transfer to Russell Sage’s Art + Extended Media Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) program.

“We are excited to add this collaboration with Russell Sage to SUNY Adirondack’s numerous articulation agreements with institutions throughout the Northeast, to create pathways for our students to complete a bachelor’s degree,” said Dr. Kristine D. Duffy, president of SUNY Adirondack. 

This agreement begins in the fall.

Under the agreement, Russell Sage will accept up to 66 credits earned by a fine arts student at SUNY Adirondack. The student must earn a C-minus or better to qualify. Those who attain a grade point average of 3.0 are automatically admitted into the program.

Classes accepted within the agreement include general education requirements such as introduction to college writing and natural sciences, and fine arts-specific courses such as two-dimensional design, western art history and painting.

By Ann Donnelly

Kirche is a gift shop located in the former North Creek United Methodist Church and recently upgraded with the addition of a new state-of-the-art carillon, a set of bells in the bell tower that chimes three times each day and will play hymns and Christmas carols during the holiday season.

“It was an impulse purchase,” said owner Jennifer Zimmerman, originally from the New York City area. “I walked into the building, and without even realizing it, the words came out of my mouth to my realtor, ‘You know I am going to bid on this, and I am going to try hard to buy it.’”

Initially, Zimmerman had no idea of what to do with the property. She aimed to contribute to the local community, and when she reached out for ideas, “economic activity” was the overwhelming answer. 

“I have always had old houses, and I love antiques and vintage pieces, so there were suggestions to open a shop,” she said. But it would be too expensive to turn the former church into a viable property for any business. 

Around this time, Zimmerman finished her career as a Wall Street lawyer. She traveled the world for a while before returning to North Creek to live year-round. She sold her house in Westchester and used the former church to store the antiques and other pieces she’d collected over the years.

 “Then I needed insurance, a fire alarm, electricity, and a phone line for the fire alarm, etc., so the incremental cost to use the building as a shop was feasible. I had the place. I had the stuff. I had the background knowledge.”