The Park Theater Foundation is presenting a series of six 90-minute live musical performances featuring local, national and international artists. This is a free concert series that will serve to enhance the accessibility of the arts within the local community. 

The Summer Series Concerts include:

Friday, 06/28 – Wild Adriatic (Rooted in the rowdy spirit of rock & roll, Wild Adriatic has built an international audience on a combination of groove, grit, and guitar-heavy swagger. “Flawlessly tight with infectious melodies and tons of soul.” – Relix) 

Friday, 07/05 – Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio (Equal parts hot swing, snarky songwriting, and lyrical storytelling, Rob Flax’s Boom Chick Trio combines virtuoso violin, guitar, bass and three part harmony vocals for an energetic performance. “Eclectic jazzy trio with fun original songs and bounding energy.” – Music on Centre)

Friday, 07/12 – Stella Ruze (An award-winning folk rock band from Philadelphia, Stella Ruze blends four-part vocal harmonies with infectious rhythms and horn arrangements to create a new, genre-bending sound. 

The Adirondack Wine & Food Festival returns to Lake George on Saturday, June 29 & Sunday, June 30. Recently voted a top three annual event by LakeGeorge.com, the festival will feature 140 of New York’s best wineries, distilleries, breweries, cideries, artisan food producers, food trucks, crafters, and more at the Charles R. Wood Festival Commons in Lake George Village.

The family-friendly event is one of the most celebrated wine and food events in the Northeast, drawing visitors from 36 states. Now in its eighth year, the festival anticipates approximately 7,000 attendees this year. People visit the region specifically to attend the festival; 88 percent to be exact, according to post-event attendee surveys. The 2024 festival is expected to generate more than 12,000 overnight stays and produce an economic impact of just under $5 million for the region.

“We are thrilled to celebrate the 8th annual Wine and Food Festival here in Lake George,” said Gina Mintzer, executive director of the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce & CVB. “This event has become a cornerstone of our summer season, drawing visitors from near and far to experience the incredible culinary and craft beverage offerings of our region and beyond. The festival not only showcases the rich flavors of the Adirondacks but also significantly boosts tourism and visitation, providing a vital economic impact as we kick off the summer.”

By Ann Donnelly

Erbessd Instruments has become a global leader in a highly specialized field: machine health monitoring. The company develops and manufactures a prescriptive analytics platform that uses artificial intelligence, machine learning, and wireless sensor technology to help customers understand their machines’ health. 

“They can predict if there is going to be some kind of outage and take action, rather than just wait for a failure to occur, “ says Chairman and CEO Dr. M. David Howard, who started in the industry as a journeyman aircraft maintenances specialist in the United States Air Force.

President and Founder Dr. Thierry Erbessd, based in Mexico, worked in the first iteration of the business his father started 35 years ago and went out on his own 15 years ago. Then, eight years ago, Howard partnered with Dr. Erbessd to bring that vision to the U.S., .and other English-speaking markets. 

Megh McCane-Howard, Howard’s wife, also came on board. The couple, originally from South Glens Falls, decided to base all but the Spanish-speaking operations in this area. First working from the basement of their home, they tried offices in a few other locations until three years ago, when they took over and refurbished 19 Exchange St. in Glens Falls.

The company has customers in nearly every country and works with 145 distributors and partners worldwide. It has approximately 140 employees working between Glens Falls, two locations in Mexico, a European office in the United Kingdom, and a facility in India added last year.

By Paul Post

Area businesses have stepped up to the plate to help the Glens Falls Dragons get off to a good start at East Field, where several major improvements have been made for the 2024 season.

More than 450 comfortable stadium seats from a minor league ballpark in Newark, N.J. are in place behind home plate, first-base bleachers have new wooden seating, and electrical and water lines have been installed for the right-field concession stand and rest room area.

“We’re just trying to get the place fixed up to keep baseball here in Glens Falls,” team owner Ben Bernard said. “We want to keep this an inexpensive family attraction for the area.”

The Dragons are led by first-year coach Ryan Deo, a College of St. Rose player-coach, and open at home on Friday, May 31 at 7 p.m. against the Amsterdam Mohawks. St. Mary’s High School alum Pete Brown, a former minor league hurler, returns as pitching coach.

By Jill Nagy

Gabriel Frankewich bills himself as the Blade Doctor and tries to bring military precision to sharpening knives, blades, and surgical tools. Headquartered in several former garages in Ballston Lake, he does most of his work from his van

“I am in my van almost all day,” he said, bringing the business to the customer. He brings some very large jobs back to his shop. He describes himself as “detail oriented. . . . a little on the perfectionist side.” He attributes that to his military training and experience as an MP.

He covers a broad area, roughly from Lake George to the Catskills.

As a boy, he was fascinated by his grandfather’s grindstone and began grinding everything he could lay his hands on, including a shovel. His grandfather taught him how to use the grindstone properly and he was off to a lifetime of grinding and sharpening. In the military, he sharpened his buddies’ pocket knives. Later, when living in Israel, he spent so much time sharpening knives and utensils for other people that his father suggested that he make a business out of it. So, he did. He had a sharpening business in Tel Aviv, Israel, for three years before returning to the United States seven years ago.

Much of Frankewich’s current work consists of sharpening the surgical tools of area dentists, doctors, and orthodontists. He said that he wants to do more of that kind of work and that he expects, in another two years or so, to do that exclusively.

West Mountain has hired Olympic and World Cup Coach Teresita Birkner as head women’s FIS coach for West Mountain Racing. Her daughters, Macarena and Belen, individually or collaboratively, will serve as her FIS assistants helping U16 athletes to transition to FIS.

“We are so excited for our young women FIS athletes to be coached and mentored by such a strong, powerful, globally accomplished and recognized ski racing family,” said Sara Montgomery, program director of West Mountain Racing and general manager at West Mountain.

Some of the family’s past and recent accomplishments and qualifications include:

• Coach Teresita: mother and coach of three very accomplished ski racing daughters; Head Coach Argentina Nat. Ski Team; 30 years coaching all disciplines FIS World Level, including but not limited to, four Olympics, 13 World Championships, six FIS Jr World Championships; South American Cup Titles-33 overall, 34 SL, 31 GS, 22 SG, 11 DH, five Combined; Argentina National Ski Championships-33 GS, 32 SL, 2 DH, 6 SG.

Muroff Hospitality Group has announced the sale of The Lamplight Inn Bed & Breakfast at 231 Lake Ave in Lake Luzerne. Known as “The Jewel of the Adirondacks,” this award-winning property features 12 luxurious suites, a sun-drenched dining room and a spacious owner’s apartment. The expansive wrap around porch leads into the grand 1890 Victorian building. The Carriage House is behind the main building where there are five large ground floor suites in a modern building surrounded by acres of wooded privacy.

The sellers are Eugene and Linda Merlino. Gene Merlino has been the long-time town supervisor of Lake Luzerne, and will continue in that role. The buyers are George and Mary Haleem of Pennsylvania. This will be their first investment property in New York state. 

Mitch Muroff of Muroff Hospitality Group represented the seller and secured the buyer in this exclusive listing. The sale price was $1,255,000 and the transaction closed on May 1 in Queensbury.

The Inn was built in 1890 as the summer home of wealthy bachelor Howard Conkling. Conkling was a lawyer from New York City and a member of the New York State Assembly. He was well traveled and wrote multiple books of his travels. No expense was spared for his home. A 12-foot beamed ceiling, chestnut wainscoting and keyhole staircases enhance the spacious Great Room, now used as the guest sitting area.

By Paul Post

Denver Semon developed a strong following as chef at the former Flight and Aviator restaurants in Glens Falls and Queensbury, respectively.

Now she’s taking off with her own new eatery, Scratch Kitchen, at 199 Warren Street in Glens Falls, directly across from the south end of McDonald Street.

The quaint, tastefully decorated establishment brings a touch of country to the city as Semon makes her own breads, soups and sausage meats complemented by fresh herbs, veggies and colorful cut flowers, available for sale, which she raises at home.

“Everything’s going to be made from scratch,” she said. “My own breads, my own roast turkey. I’ve done this for others for a long time. Chefs work a lot of hours. I just thought, if I’m going to work that many hours I might as well do it for myself.”

Originally from a Finger Lakes small town, Semon moved to Glens Falls in 1998 and has also worked at The Sagamore and as executive chef for Point O’Pines Girls Camp in Brant Lake. Her career also took her to Williamsburg, Va., before moving back to Glens Falls.