Adirondack Family Time™

The Saranac Lake Ski Club is hosting a fun ski event with U.S. Ski Team members at Mt Pisgah on Friday March 19th from 4-6 pm. Ted Ligety, Andrew Weibrecht (not skiing) and a number of other Olympians are planning on being at Pisgah from 4-5:30 training with racers. An autograph session will occur from 5:30 to 6 in the lodge. $15 to ski at Mt Pisgah includes the lift ticket. Additional donations are also welcome. If you would like to donate but can't be present please send donation to Friends of Mt Pisgah, DBA Saranac Lake Ski Club, PO Box 978, Saranac Lake, NY 12983. Friends of Mt Pisgah is a 501c3 corporation. Donations are tax deductable. Twenty years ago volunteers raised money and installed snow making. Ten years ago volunteers raised the money and built a new base lodge and now the 1950's T-Bar is beyond repair. This will be a unique opportunity to ski and meet our U.S. Ski Team members. Please join the Saranac Lake Ski Club in this fundraising effort.

Craving Corn Beef and Cabbage? Need for an Irish jig? Here are some events to quench your thirst. Tri-Lakes All Day: $38 tickets to Whiteface with a Coca-Cola product 4:30 p.m - 7:00 p.m. St. Agnes St. Patrick’s dinner, Lake Placid held at the Comfort Inn 6:00 p.m. Irish music at Charlie's Inn Lake Clear , 518-891-9858 Western Noon: St. Patty's lunch at the Senior Nut Site, Long Lake Southern All Day: $38 lift tickets to Gore (with a Coca-Cola product) noon - midnight Olde Post Grille, 1300 State Route 9 Lake George 5:00 p.m. Corn Beef and Cabbage dinner at Emmanuel United Methodist Church, Steward Avenue Bolton Landing, NY Irish Step Dancers and the Adirondack Highlanders Pipe & Drum Band at the Parting Glass Pub , Saratoga Springs 5:00 p.m. All day celebration at the Irish Times Pub in Sarantoga Springs 6:00 p.m. -9:00 p.m. Performances by Aces High and Tom Moriarty at the Bolton Landing School Gymnasium. Lake Champlain 11:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. VFW 125 Corned Beef and Cabb

Go to www.adkfamilytime.com for a listing of family-friendly activities for March 13-14 out and about the Adirondack Park. This is a partial listing. Please let me know if I need to add something. I do the best I can! Enjoy! Tri-Lakes Adirondack Family Time (Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Tupper Lake and Just Beyond 3/13/10 10:00 am Easter activities at Book Store Plus, Lake Placid; 10:30 am story time AuSable Forks Library; 3/14 11:30 Wild Center Wild Days with story time 1:00 Wild Center Wild Days workshop on raising chickens in your backyard *Ski at Big Tupper and get a free pass to the Wild Center 3/14 1:00 Wild Center Art Day, Family Art and Nature project 6:00 Play with your soup (some adult language, Lake Placid Center for the Arts and Pendragon Theatre Western Adirondack Family Time 3/13/10 All Day: Snow Fest at the George T. Hilebrant Pavilion Old Forge 11:00 -3:00 Kestral Nesting Box workshop, Newcomb VIC 3/14/10 1:30 Adk Museum Cabin Fever: free to school-aged children and m

Shane Holmes of Blueline Geocachers also encourages non-geocachers to come to the 4th annual Mid-Winter Get-Together. The event is free and registration is not required. Bring a lunch or grab something from a local vendor. Anyone without a GPS and is interested, Holmes will gladly pair with other geocachers to introduce the activity. Holmes states,“Geocaching is great exercise. You get outside, hike, swim and are introduced to places that perhaps you haven’t seen before. Some people have never done anything like this outside so it opens up a new opportunity to see something of esthetic value. For others, it gets them off the computer. ” The Long Lake event will be held at the Long Lake Town Hall/Fire Hall (N 43° 58.352 W 074° 25.215)
 from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. read more

The USA Luge team, headquartered in Lake Placid, gives free tours of their facility every weekday at 2:00 p.m. This week the Olympic luge team and most of the staff are in Vancouver supporting their athletes so tours will resume the week of the 22nd. Read More

The Flume Trail System is about eight miles of trails open to mountain biking, hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing. The Flume parking lot is about 2 miles south from the town of Wilmington on Route 86 on the opposite side of the Ausable River from the Hungry Trout Restaurant. The majority of the trails are free and open to the public. This trail network does connect to Whiteface Ski Area, which does require a ticket. Curses on that rain that wreaked havoc on the snow. I optimistically pack snowshoes hoping that the woods will still hold some of the white stuff. The children grab their own backpacks and fill each with the essentials. Flashlights, space blankets, first aid kits and gators are pulled from our winter kits. Then the games, stuffed animals and hardcover novels start being tucked around the sides. I remind them that we are just going for a bit of a walk, not winter camping. Once they realize they will be carrying their own packs, items start flying out faster tha

Big Tupper has teamed with The Wild Center , the Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks. Anyone purchasing a ticket to the Wild Center or a day lift ticket for Big Tupper will get a free day pass to the other venue. The free ticket is good for up to two weeks. I am a fan of Big Tupper. Literally, a fan. I clicked on the Facebook flag and became a fan of the little mountain that could. I have been swept along with all the momentum of hearing about and have friends (this time real ones not just Facebook) that have spent time getting the mountain open. With all the computer progress updates and conversation, I have yet to ski there. My family has been able to go but it seems that my own family time has its work conflicts like any one else’s. Ironic isn’t it? To write about family activities but to then send the family off to enjoy so that I can work. My children assure me that they will report back in detail any discoveries from their ski outing at Big Tupper. Before I regale you wit

Will playing games raise your child's IQ? I am not talking about the cloak and dagger kind of games or my children's ability to creatively conjure ways to get out of walking the dog. According to a research study by Dr. Silvia Bunge, a neuroscientist at UC Berkeley, and her graduate students found certain off-the-shelf board, card and video games improved children's IQ significantly. Read more here

The complete Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Schedule of Events is here. Starting with the Coronation of Carnival Royalty. Thursday, February 4 5:30 p.m.: 11th Annual Past Royalty Mixer and Dinner (Moose Club, $, call 891-1286 for reservations) Friday, February 5 7:30 p.m.: Coronation of Carnival Royalty (Harrietstown Town Hall) Sponsored by the Women’s Civic Chamber Post Coronation: Reception following the ceremony at the B.P.O. Elks Lodge #1508 9 p.m.: Cocktail Hour – Music by Mecca Bodega (Waterhole Upstairs Music Lounge, $) 9 p.m. – 2 a.m.: Music by Road Dog Kill (Captain Cook’s, $) Saturday, February 6 10 a.m.: Ice Palace Fun Run (4 miles) (Ice Palace) 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: 17th Annual Business & Professional Women Chocolate Festival (Harrietstown Town Hall, $) 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.: Lutheran Church Women’s Craft Sale (Harrietstown Town Hall, $) 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.: Petrova Winter Carnival (fun for kids) (Petrova Elementary School Cafeteria, $) 11 a.m.: The Adirondack ARC Curling Exhibition

For the past four years we have been invited to have our son participate in the annual ski jumping clinics at MacKenzie-Intervale Jumping Complex . My husband and I embrace the idea. What an opportunity to experience something so few other regions have, an Olympic facility near by with coaches and experienced staff of World Championship caliber. Each year my son declines. For the first time, at no encouragement from us, he decided that he wanted to see what the big deal was all about. A friend was going and there was a mention of snacks. We hung out with other families while my son practiced on the play hill, playing games, taking jumps the size of moguls he encounters regularly while downhill skiing. The coaches eased even the most reluctant skier down the hill with fun play and games. The group then moved to the 5-meter hill where the children lined up and did easy jumps. It was all done with a nice transition and sense of play. Much to our surprise our son went with the 30 other ki

This is not a huge surprise after the rain received yesterday that Mt. Pisgah in Saranac Lake will not be having ski lessons this evening.

Don't let kids have all the fun! Kids’ Night Out will be held at the NCCC Sparks Athletic Complex from 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. on Friday, January 22nd allowing any parents wishing to see the Pendragon Theatre' s performance of Moby Dick Rehearsed. There will be enough time to drop off children and be at the Pendragon Theatre for opening curtain at 7:30 p.m. Complimentary desserts will be available during intermission. Pendragon Theatre brings Moby Dick Rehearsed back to its home turf for a limited engagement before continuing its North Country tour. Teaming with North Country Community College’s (NCCC) Kids’ Night Out on January 22nd, Pendragon Theatre hopes to give all community members the opportunity to see this incredible show. Kids’ Night Out provides free play and some organized games under the supervision of NCCC athletes. The three-hour program costs $10 per child and is open to all children from five to twelve years of age. Please contact each organization for more

Dewey Mountain is hosting a Ski Jam, Friday, January 8, 6:30 - 9:00 with live music, food from Eat N' Meet, and of course skiing. Join the fun . Additional Hours of Operation Monday 10:00an - 5:00pm Tuesday - Friday 10:00am - 7:00pm Saturday 9:00am - 5:00pm Sunday 10:00am - 4:00pm