Christian Dutcher, vice president of Americade Events, Inc., will return $40,000 to Warren County after a very successful Lake George Winterfest in February. Drawing money from tourism and occupancy tax, the county had given Dutcher and his company an initial $40,000 to promote Winterfest, a last-minute replacement for the annual Lake George Winter Carnival, which was cancelled due to COVID. The event was much more popular than expected.
Dutcher will write a check to the county this week, he told the Tourism and Occupation Coordination committee on March 22.
“I’ll be honest with you, it’s a lot bigger than I thought it would ever be,” Dutcher told the committee. “I’m delighted to see how successful it was.”
The Winterfest was a collection of individual events. People bought wristbands through Dutcher’s website that allowed them to participate in general events such as carriage rides around Lake George Village and, for a bit more money, specific events such as dog sled rides, snowshoeing and ax throwing, all of which were very popular. Wristbands for them sold out.
The wrist bands also gave people discounts on restaurants and lodging.
“People, by and large, wanted to escape the realities of COVID, wanted to have a little normality,” Dutcher told the group.
The plan had always been that Dutcher would send profits back to the county, but Kevin Geraghty, the Warrensburg town supervisor and chair of the county’s occupancy tax committee, said it is rare to have anyone return tax money.
In this case, Geraghty expected to see between $1,000 and $2,000.
“I’ve got to say, ‘Hats off’ to the whole group,” Geraghty said in an interview yesterday. He said that many people gave volunteer time. He noted Mannix Marketing and Fort William Henry in particular. The group worked closely with the Lake George Regional Chamber of Commerce and CVB.
Winterfest was Dutcher’s last-minute brainchild, conceived in December and delivered in February. If given time to plan and organize better, Winterfest could continue, and potentially for even less money, he told the committee. Many of the people who came to Winterfest were first-time tourists to the area, he reported. People who ski already know the area, they have already invested time and money into the sport.
The new tourist wanted what he called a “low-threshold experience” or an “Instagram weekend,” an excuse to easily get to the Adirondacks and take beautiful selfies in a carriage ride on a lake.
Geraghty said the county likely would look to pairing the Winterfest with the Winter Carnival in future. County leaders and business owners have formed committees to talk about the region as a four-season destination.