Adirondack Family Time™

January 2nd will kick off the beginning of ski racing at Mt Pisgah in Saranac Lake. Below are a list of scheduled events for those interested in ski lessons and races. January 2 = Candy Bar Races start Saturday at 10:15 @ Pisgah January 5 = NYSEF Race training is starting 5:30 @ Pisgah January 12 = Ski lessons at Mt Pisgah will start for the Tuesday - Thursday lessons. January 13 Ski lessons at Mt Pisgah will start for the Wednesday-Friday lessons. To register 4:30-5:30 arrive at least 1/2 hour early. Lessons start @ 5:30. Be on the hill ready to go at 5:30. January 17 = The Golden Ski Race

This New York Times article will show you what goes into the beef that is then sold to fast-food restaurants and the school lunch program. Just one more reason to buy local! According the article "government and industry records obtained by The New York Times show that in testing for the school lunch program, E. coli and salmonella pathogens have been found dozens of times in Beef Products meat, challenging claims by the company and the U.S.D.A. about the effectiveness of the treatment. Since 2005, E. coli has been found 3 times and salmonella 48 times, including back-to-back incidents in August in which two 27,000-pound batches were found to be contaminated. The meat was caught before reaching lunch-rooms trays."

TNot only will this December 31st be a day for throwing out the old and ringing in the new it also has the unusual status of commonly being known as a blue moon. Hopefully the prediction for snow won’t hamper anyone’s New Year eve festivities. Though 2010 will come regardless of the “ball dropping,” champagne, sparking cider or streamers. A popular belief is that the second Full Moon of the month is a "blue moon." A second moon in a month is a rare occurrence, every 2.72 years to be exact so if old sayings hold true if something is happening “once in a blue moon” it truly is an occasion for celebrating. Read more

First Night® Saranac Lake is one of 130 events held around the world providing family-oriented, alcohol-free activities while showcasing arts and community. There is still plenty of time to get your First Night® button ($12 for adults). It can be purchased at Ampersound Music, Price Chopper Supermarket, Books & Baskets, Blue Line Sports, Adirondack Daily Enterprise, Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce or Lake Placid Visitor Bureau . Children twelve and under are admitted free but need to display the First Night® button designed especially for them, which is to be available at all venues. For the rest of the post

The only manuscript known to exist from Charles Dicken's 1843 tale A Christmas Carol has been digitized. The original is housed in the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan. Readers unable to attend the showing of the original manuscript (through January 10) are able to flip from the handwritten version to the typed via a high resolution scan made possible by the New York Times . Read more

Looking for events between Christmas and New Year's? Here are some ideas: The Lake Placid Center for the Arts will host the Pendragon Theatre holiday production of "The Best Christmas Pageant Ever!" on Dec. 26, 27, 28 and 29. All shows begin at 7:00 p.m. The Wild Center will be open for special holiday hours from Dec. 26 to Dec. 31, and on Jan. 2 and 3 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. See a movie at the Lake Placid Palace Theatre (518.523.9271) or Tupper Lake State Theatre (518-359-3593) Go to the Paul Smiths VIC to see a nature film, ski the trails or play with the touch table. Hours are from 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Tuesday - Saturday, closed Christmas. The trail are open from dawn to dusk, every day of the year Join a pick-up game of hockey at many outdoor free skating rinks. Wear a helmet! Check out the Olympic venues Ski at Whiteface , Gore , Titus , Mt Pisgah or Big Tupper . Participate in First Night® Saranac Lake with activities, events, music, fireworks and food

Both Vermont and New York transportation officials said the demolition had to be rescheduled for December 28 at 10:00 a.m. due to ice forming on Lake Champlain and severely cold temperatures, which have delayed work preparing the bridge for demolition. In New York, two viewing areas will be available along the shore in Port Henry, about two miles west of the 80-year-old bridge. The main public viewing area is going to be the boat launch in Port Henry, N.Y., and an alternative area is the Bulwagga Bay Park in Moriah, N.Y. Read more

Santa's Workshop at the North Pole in Wilmington will be open to the public tonight (December 21) and tomorrow (December 22) from 4:30 p.m to 7:30 p.m. for anyone wishing to see the "merry ol' elf before he hits the sky way. Rides and shows are limited. The price is $9.95/person for ages two- ninety-nine. Call 518-946-2211 for more information. The whole village is decorated for Christmas. The Nativity Pageant will be playing while Santa and the reindeer ready his sleigh. Carolers will perform and all the holiday shops will be open. Please keep in mind that snacks will be available but no restaurant. The carousel will be running for anyone wishing to take a ride on their very own a reindeer. Happy Holidays!

A 2006 South Australian study into arts education indicates that going to the theatre can improve children’s literacy and social skills. The Children's Voices study documented the impact of live theatre on 140 State Government primary school students over three years. It was conducted and jointly funded by the Department of Education and Children’s Services, The University of South Australia and Windmill Performing Arts. Windmill Performing Arts project manager Julie Orchard, who is a Department of Education and Children’s Services teacher, said children’s oral and written language improved significantly during the project. In a prepared statement, author of the report and director of the study, Professor Wendy Schiller, Director of UniSA’s de Lissa Institute of Early Childhood and Family Studies Research Group, said the children’s response to live arts performance directly affected their learning and their lives. “The most noticeable impact was the children’s marked gain in lit

As my children grow older I understand that every child feels their parents grew up in the “olden days.” My daughter is confused during a family movie night when an actor plays an album on the turntable. To her a record player is a DJ’s scratch pad. She hears all about keeping things simple and I now realize I have set myself into that cliché. She believes I grew up in it, that simpler time in her mind, where people sang for no reason at all and danced to the orchestra in their head. Now it is my turn to pass along the experience and recreate a simpler time for my own children, to elevate some of the holiday stress and just enjoy being together. This weekend the village of Lake Placid will turn on its old world charm and celebrate its annual Holiday Stroll. Santa will kick off the event with free skating at the Olympic Oval starting at 6:30 p.m. On Saturday, for anyone wishing to complete or (gasp!) start holiday shopping, several venues are available for children to be dropped off gi

The Champlain Valley Film Society will be celebrating its 100th film with a free showing of classic Katharine Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart film The African Queen. In 1952, this film won Humphrey Bogart his only Oscar though he had been nominated for Casablanca and The Caine Mutiny. Read more

Here is the new mock-up for the latest Adirondack Outdoor Expeditions brochure. The website is still a work in progress. I will place an update when the 2010 schedule and calendar is up and running! Thank you for your interest. Tyler Chase has been leading small groups of teenagers and families into the Adirondack woods and waterways since 1983. He teaches Math in the Saranac Lake School District during the school year and has a Masters Degree in Outdoor Education. Although summer is his busy hiking season, he finds time all year to get into the wilderness with his wife and two children. He climbed his 46th high peak in 1978 and has continued hiking and climbing each peak several times since. For Tyler it is less about "conquering" the peak as it is about enjoying all a mountain has to offer. He has travelled to many parts of the world, but finds himself truly at home in the Adirondacks.

Just a quick note for anyone looking for a rainy day activity this weekend. Pendragon Theatre is performing Moby Dick Rehearsed November 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. on November 22. My ten-year-old and I attended the opening and we both loved it. It is remarkably well done. Even if you have not read the Herman Melville book of the white whale, the play brings to life that suspenseful tale of the sea that all can enjoy. Pendragon Theatre has managed to tell the story in just two hours. For an unabridged annual reading marathon you would have to travel well outside the Adirondacks to the New Bedford Whaling Museum where each year the book is read out loud by approximately 150 readers in a mere 25 hours.