Posts

Inside Fun for Kids in Lake Placid: Paint Your Own Pottery

Image
By Diane Chase There are many paint choices at Brush On In! Brush On In in Lake Placid offers many inside activities and events to keep the whole family busy on a rainy, snowy or anytime! The final product!  Each object is individually priced with an additional studio fee of $9 for adults and $7 for children that covers the firing, glaze and paint.  Look for online specials as well as toddler special (M-F) 1/2 price sitting fee. It can get pricey but there are small items that children can paint that are very reasonably priced. 

Family-Friendly Saranac Lake Daffest Schedule of Events

Image
By Diane Chase  51,000 bulbs are starting to wake up in Saranac  Lake New York (NY)  in time for the first Daffest   April 29 - May 1, 2011. Throughout the weekend there will be garden tours, historic tours and the Saranac Lake Chamber of Commerce will have a booth with a map available. 

Inside Fun for Kids in Lake Placid: Bowlwinkles Family Entertainment Center

Image
By Diane Chase We are a bit stir crazy and I need a break from the winter. I just want to grab a quick bite to eat and not think about snow.   B owlwinkles has specials each day for those on a budget. For example, each Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – noon it is $5 all you can bowl with free shoe rentals. (Subject to change). My son suggests  Bowlwinkles Family Entertainment Center  in Lake Placid. He lobbies hard and wins. My son would live at Bowlwinkles, if possible. He thinks it a slice of heaven to have an arcade, food, laser tag and glow-in-the-dark bowling in one location.

Indoor fun with kids: Planting seeds with kids

Image
By Diane Chase At our house we have started our seeds for the summer garden. During these shoulder season days the kids constantly check the progress of their favorite vegetables. Though some seeds are best sown directly into the garden, I am not one to stop my children from willingly planting beans. We can always throw more into the garden once the danger of frost has passed. Some people may not have the space for an outside garden; that has never stopped us. Even apartment dwellers can start seedlings on window sills or hanging planters. We found our children are just as interested in watching a flower emerge from inside a dirt-filled recycled yogurt container than in the ground. The only materials needed are a packet of seeds and potting soil, all found at local hardware stores and gardening centers for very little cost. Read the rest

Easy Short Lake Placid Hikes: Hike or Snowshoe to Owen Pond

Image
By Diane Chase What to do with kids in Lake Placid? Our first choice is to be outside whether on skis or snowshoes, our Adirondack kids are out being active.  There are so many places in the Adirondacks that we just drive by on our journey to another location. We pass the trail signs and think that we need to just take the time to explore.  The trail to Owens Pond, just outside Lake Placid, is one such trail. Part of the Sentinel Range Wilderness Area, Owens Pond is a quick 0.5-mile hike to a beautiful pond.  This hike or snowshoe is a great option for even the youngest of the group. 

Adirondack Family Activities: Spring skiing at Whiteface and Gore

Image
By Diane Chase This weekend   Whiteface Mountain   will celebrate its last  The annual pond skimming contest will take place at the base of Whiteface on April 9th  with no entry fee required. Skiers and snowboards will try to gain as much speed as possible to "skim" across a man made pond to win prizes for longest distance, biggest and best splash and best costume. Pond skimming at Whiteface is not just for ticket holders. Spectators can access the event for free. For those in need of accessibility, the event will have a limited view from the sun deck. Pond skimming can be viewed from the gondola but tickets are required. 

Adirondack Maple Sugar Shacks: Go for a Tour of a Maple Farm!

Image
Here is a list of Maple Farms. Call ahead to make sure that they are open. It is a wonderful way to welcome in spring in the Adirondacks. There are maple breakfasts, wagon rides and tours of farms. Besides plenty of opportunity to sample the maple products. Enjoy! 

Lake Placid Sinfonietta presents Frackenpohl Honors Brass Quintet

“Frackenpohl Honors Brass Quintet” Recital and Reception 4:00 P.M. Sunday, March 27, 2011 St. Eustace Church This student brass quintet from the Crane School of Music in  Potsdam ,  NY  includes musicians Brian Masterson, Trumpet, Brianne Borden, Trumpet, Denise Peters, Horn, Shawn Cagney, & Michael Casey, Tuba.   ~ Donations Gladly Accepted, Proceeds Benefit the  Lake Placid  Educational Outreach Programs Program to include: La Peri Fanfare by Paul Dukas, arranged by Wayne Barrington Fire Dance by Anthony DiLorenzo Colchester Fantasty movts. 1 & 4, by Eric Ewazen Centone No. V by Samuel Scheidt Quintet No. 1 Op. 5 by Victor Ewald Exaltation by Brian Balmages

Adirondack Spring Skiing: What ski mountains are still open?

Image
Gore Mountain is celebrating the last weekend of "Take Your Son Skiing" where all sons 19 and under can ski/snowboard for free with a paying adult Whiteface is open and will be celebrating SpringFest with a pirate themed weekend of activities McCauley Mountain is open and Friday is Crazy Friday where all tickets are $12 and tomorrow will bring on the Snowmaker's Ball. West Mountain is celebrating its Family Fun Day on March 26th with carboard sled races, pond skimming, BBQ and more. Big Tupper, Mt Pisgah, Oak Mountain are all closed for the season.

Adirondack Family Activity: Paul Smith’s College Retail Bakery

Image
By Diane Chase Paul Smith's Retail Bakery Themes March 23  = Princess Day March 30 =  Chocolate April 6 = Cupcakes April 13 = Springfever April 18 = Easter (open two days for Easter) April 20 =Easter (open two days for Easter) April 27 = Daffest I have never managed to get to the Paul Smith’s College Retail Bakery when it is open. I have certainly managed to get to the shop when it is closed, peered into the window looking at the empty bakery shelves thinking if I had only remembered a few hours earlier. I am told the prices are more than reasonable and the 2 nd  year bakery students use this opportunity to showcase the skills they’ve learned toward earning their Associated Degree in Baking and Pastry Arts.

10 ways to enjoy Thurman Maple Weekend: Adirondack Family Activities

Image
By Diane Chase Here are ten ways to enjoy Thurman New York (NY) Maple Weekend this March 12-13. With the weather starting to warm up, the sap will start running and it will be pancakes for everyone!  March 12-13, 2011 1) 9:00 a.m. Enjoy a pancake breakfast at Valley Road Maple Farm. (on Saturday and Sunday) 2) Grab your snowshoes or borrow a pair from Adirondack Gold Maple Farm and walk around the 35 acres of trails. 

Lake Placid Toboggan Chute: Adirondacks (New York) Video

Image
My video skills are a work in progress but here is a video of the Lake Placid Toboggan Chute. Such a fun thing to do with or without kids around the Adirondacks! If you have visiting family or just go by yourself! Enjoy the fresh snow!

Lake Placid Activities: Free tour of USA Luge Headquarters

Image
Lake Placid has the only indoor luge facility  The USA Luge team , headquartered in Lake Placid, gives free tours of their facility every weekday at 2:00 p.m.  Considering it is the official headquarters for the US Luge, it is an unassuming structure, more warehouse than office building. It’s a casual tour where athletes may be fine-tuning their sleds or watching videos of individual practice starts. The tour starts with a 20-minute introduction video that can jump-start anyone’s luge education. The movie is just as fast and furious as the sport.  The indoor facility, the only one in the US and one of seven in the world, is quite impressive. Athletes use three refrigerated ramps to improve their start techniques with the latest technology, shaving milliseconds off their time. There is even an opportunity to try out a practice sled (not to slide on) and find out how to steer using your legs to squeeze on the curved part of the runners (kufen), to direct the pod, the custom-formed