Lake Luzerne’s Adirondack Folk School opens Lake George Annex, launches a record 280 classes
(Credit: Adirondack Folk School/Thomas Stock, 2022)
Master Bladesmith Jordan LaMothe works metal in the forge.
The Adirondack Folk School, of Lake Luzerne, has opened an annex in the Million Dollar Half Mile Outlet Mall in Queensbury. They have taken on the 4,000 square foot space formerly home to the Jos. A. Banks mens store, near the Log Jam Restaurant.
The AFS is the only non-profit organization of its kind in the region. This year they are offering a record-setting 280 hands-on classes and workshops, about 50 more than previously offered, press materials said.
The space was donated by the Moore family who own the property (Ed Moore also owns the Queensbury Hotel).
A grant from the Alfred Z. Solomon Foundation allowed the school to fit it out for classes in canoe making, weaving, jewelry making and other folk arts. In return, the school named the new location the Alfred Z. Solomon Lake George Annex.
The school is a version of the Danish folk schools that emphasize non-competitive education and a commitment to lifelong learning, said Scott Hayden, the executive director of the organization.
"You've always wanted to try this. It's on your bucket list,” Hayden said, but you need to find someone with skills and will to teach. "That's the nature of folk schools."
He said that the classes are aimed at people with few or no skills in the field. Making a person feel comfortable while trying the new skills is “why we do what we do,” he said.
Classes and programs at the Lake Luzerne or Queensbury locations are in 20 areas such as basketry, blacksmithing, boat building, fiber arts, photography, woodworking, and more. The courses focus on what makes the Adirondack region unique.
Since its founding in 2009, the school has attracted thousands of students and instructors from across New York State and North America, press materials say.
Among the instructors are Sheila Flanagan, from Nettle Meadow Farm. She just became a top-20 cheese maker in the world at the World Cheese Champion Contest this year. Master Bladesmith Jordan LaMothe, the youngest bladesmith to win the honor, last year, also teaches courses.
9 Miles East helps with diabetes
9 Miles East, the Saratoga Springs Restaurant on Excelsior Ave., tells FoothillsBusinessDaily.com that they have developed a program to help fight Type-2 diabetes and lower A1C blood sugar levels and they are working with health care providers in the county.
“Everyday we get new sign-ups for this program,” owner Gordon Sacks said. The program costs $50 per week plus $5 for delivery, their sign-up flier says.
Sacks says many of the meals on their menu were developed with the health-conscious diner in mind. Baby greens, lean proteins, good fats, nuts and seeds are all part of the meals, Sacks said, adding that they were finding that people with Type 2 diabetes were buying them, so they started a program.
“It’s a carefully selected group of our regular meals,” he said.
Many of the meals are the same as the ones delivered to office doors around the city during COVID, but now they are focused on a different audience. Anecdotally, people said the meals were really helping to lower blood sugar.
“We thought maybe there’s a role within the clinical treatment model because diabetes is such an enormous problem in our country,” he said.
Unfortunately, the pizzas the restaurant is also known for are not part of the diet.