Starting this week: Winterfest and Ice Fishing
Courtesy Lake George Winterfest
Snowmobile rides for this weekend have already sold out and the axe throwing venue is popular at this year’s Lake George Winterfest, said Kim Saheim with the Lake George Chamber of Commerce.
The Winterfest was the brain-child of Americade organizer Christian Dutcher. In a normal year, the Lake George Winter Carnival would take place now, but that draws thousands of people to the village to watch snowmobile and car races. Area leaders feared it would turn into a coronavirus superspreader event.
“We can’t have that,” Saheim said.
Lake George Village itself and the surrounding trails and parks are open to the public. However, to participate in the full Winterfest, visitors must buy a wristband from the Lake George Winterfest website. There is no way to purchase a band locally, and visitors want to purchase by the Sunday before they arrive, the website says.
According to the event website, the band can be purchased for $15 as a general item that allows the wearer to get free hot cocoa and a horse-drawn carriage ride through the village, but most bands are $20 or $30 and come with a special event, such as snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, axe throwing or dog sledding.
Not everything is in Lake George itself. The sold-out dog sled rides are in Lake Placid. The axe throwing is in Queensbury.
“Business is trickling into...the region,” Saheim said.
All wristbands allow the bearer 15% off a hotel stay at select area hotels and 10% off meals at select restaurants. The bands are good for all four weekends in February and can be used during more than one weekend.
The Lake George Chamber has been able to track some of the activity based on the number of welcome bags they have made for hotel guests.
“We’re finding a lot of new people are coming,” Saheim said. Much like last summer in Lake George, people are finding the area a place to come and rest with room enough to stay socially distant.
Courtesy Warren County (2021)
Concurrently, the Warren County Ice Fishing Challenge is underway. People are encouraged to ice fish anywhere in the county, to post and tag pictures on social media, or to email the photos to the county.
In return, the county will send the first 100 a T-shirt. The challenge lasts through February.
Don Lehman, director of public affairs for the county, said that the ice is in on Brandt and Loon lakes with some bays on Lake George starting to ice over. The competition began Monday, and so far, they have gotten a handful of photos.
“We think with the upcoming weekends and New York’s ‘free fishing weekend’ Feb. 13 to 14 for Presidents Day weekend that there will be some more interest,” he said.
The Lake George Winterfest runs Thursdays through Sundays in February. See a full list of activities on the website.
Click here:
- For more on the Winterfest
- For more on the Warren County Ice Fishing Challenge
The arena in downtown Glens Falls will stay Cool
The Cool Insuring Arena in downtown Glens Falls will keep its name at least in the foreseeable future, despite the fact that Cool Insuring--the insurance company from which the arena gets its name--was purchased by Gallagher Insurance late last year.
“They have the right to change the name if they want to,” said Jeff Mead, General Manager for Cool Insuring Arena, “but they have indicated that they have no immediate plans to do so.”
The current contract on the naming runs through 2025, and they have a right of first refusal to continue it after that, Mead said. The arena itself is managed by the Adirondack Civic Center Coalition, Inc.
In a statement released earlier this week, Bob Crandall, Area President for Gallagher in Albany said, “We can’t think of a better way to support the Upstate New York community than by serving as a steward of the Arena, and we are excited to be part of its deep roots in Glens Falls.”
Cool Insuring Agency, Inc. was founded in 1857 by Charles W. Cool, the first Mayor of the City of Glens Falls and has served the community for the past 150 years. The partnership extension will include the naming rights to the Arena, which was officially named Cool Insuring Arena in 2018.