Although Craftproducers, of Charlotte, Vermont, has run an Art and Craft Festival in the Green Mountain state for 30-odd years, moving the show from there to the Charles R. Wood Park in Lake George Village, “is very much starting a new show,” said owner Tim Cianciola.
COVID took a toll on his events last year, so he took the downtime to reevaluate the large, multi-day festival. Vermont has a strong tourism industry, he said, but Lake George, just an hour drive for thousands of people, draws more than he has seen in Vermont. Plus, the beautiful setting in the Adirondacks wowed him.
"I really just got excited when I saw the location,” he said. "[The park is] big, it's flat. It has power on the site. It has water on the site. It has the stuff that you need.”
Normally he'd be taking over an empty field, he said, and for a show like the arts and crafts festival, that would mean bringing two generators and a truck of water. He sells tickets to the festivals, so he must closed that open field with three or four thousand feet of fencing. Plus parking.
"I'm not staffing a parking lot” for the festival, he said.
He added that the Lake George Village staff, who rent and administer the park space, have been friendly and helpful.
Dave Ehmann agrees. A stone mason by trade, and a Lake George native by heart, Ehmann has been a music producer in Lake George for over a decade. Everyone knows each other, and they’re willing to help out, he said.
The park "is the best spot around,” for a concert, though he admitted a bias toward Lake George Village.
He should know. He produced the first concert at the park, and has, by his count, produced all but three since it opened in 2012.
He said he likes the park for many of the same reasons as Cianciola.
The park is the former Gaslight Village, a small theme park with some rides and an opera house for Vaudeville-style acts. Since Gaslight Village needed power and water, the basic infrastructure was already there when the park opened.
He said people have slowly been realizing how nice the park is for concerts. What they also realize is how close everything else is.
Hotels, restaurants, the beach, and a campground are walkable. The venue has views of the lake and mountains. The people are nice, he said, adding that he calls the area “Key West of the Northeast.”
Both men mentioned the grass, as well. Both said they liked just how well-kept the green and lush lawn is.
Ehmann, who runs Adirondack Independence Music Festival, planted his tongue firmly in his cheek, and said: "It's the best festival grass on the circuit."
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According to press materials: July 30 to Aug. 1: The Lake George Art and Craft festival will have over 100 exhibitors. There will also be pony rides, kids activities, festival fare including local craft beers, and live music all weekend. Charles R. Wood Park at 17 W Brook Rd (recently changed to Betty Little Blvd), Lake George, N.Y. $7 for the full weekend and kids 14 and under are FREE. Click for more information.
For more about the Adirondack Independence Music Festival, read here.
Steve Thurston (2021)