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.”

Defiance & Independence, a two-day battle re-enactment that will highlight the 1777 siege of Ticonderoga, will be held at the fort on Saturday and Sunday, July 22-23. It will take place at 1 p.m. both days.

Featuring more than 300 historical reenactors, it is the largest battle reenactment of the year at Fort Ticonderoga. The battle at Ticonderoga was when the British Army attempted to capture the entire American force guarding this strategic position on Lake Champlain.

Admission to the reenactment event is included with the purchase of a general admission ticket. The second day admission is free.

The intense two-day battle re-enactment will portray the fighting and maneuvering which culminated in Gen. Arthur St. Clair’s evacuation of  Ticonderoga and British Gen. John Burgoyne’s frustration in failing to capture the American force, organizers said. 

All weekend, through special programs, Fort Ticonderoga brings to life the real stories of soldiers and civilians caught up in the six-day clash between British and American forces.

 A new Saturday evening program will recreate the moment Continental Army soldiers prepared to escape capture, even as their cannons continued to hold the British at bay. Pre-registration for the evening vignette is required, limited tickets available.

“The opportunity to follow the battle as American soldiers defended entrenched positions around Ticonderoga, before secretly escaping British encirclement is an immersive exciting tale you can’t experience anywhere else,” said Beth Hill, Fort Ticonderoga president and CEO. “Our guests will watch the battle unfold, meeting the diverse British force, from Native American to German allies, and discovering unsung moments of heroism, like the evacuation of the Continental Army hospital.