Posts

Ticonderoga: North Country Christmas Schedule December 1-4

Image
One thing we always try to do around the holidays is to have the children attend one of the many arts and crafts events around the area. The goal is two-fold. The kids get to create something and then give it to someone as a Christmas gift. The weekend in Ticonderoga, the Ticonderoga Business Chamber is sponsoring its second annual North Country Christmas. The activities range from   Kids Holiday Craft Day at Glens Falls National Ban k to the ability to drop your small ones off to do some craft while you shop ($5) at All Bout Critters.

Saranac Lake Home For the Holidays December Schedule (2011)

Image
Saranac Lake's 2nd annual Home For The Holidays is a weekend full of activities from marshmallow roasts, children's crafts, movies, Breakfast with Santa, snowman building contest and more. Enjoy this time to walk the streets of Saranac Lake, peek around and enjoy some family time!  

Christmas in Warrensburgh Schedule of Events December 2-4, 2011

Image
Christmas in Warrensburgh  (full schedule below) Readings and Book Signings  Friday, December 2, 7 p.m. FREE "Season's Readings" at Willows Bistro .  Adirondack Center for Writing and Fiction Among Friends collaborate with Christmas in Warrensburgh to host this event at Willow's Bistro, 3749 Main St.  Area writers present readings from their works. Featured ACW reader, Mary Sanders Shartle reading from  Winterberry, Pine  and her new novel,  The Hermit.  Also reading, Mason Smith ( Towards Polaris , and  Florida) ; Doug Deneen and Bibi Wein. . Refreshments are available. 504-4344 Saturday, December 3, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Book Signings by Adirondack Authors at Willows Bistro.  Fiction Among Friends and Willows Bistro combine forces to host seven area authors offering perfect holiday gifts. Stop in for a visit. 10:00 - Pat Leonard; 11:00 - Mary Sanders Shartle; noon Amanda Shaffer and Meghan Lemery 1:00 - Joseph C. Parker; 2:00 - Diane Chase (wit

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus

Image
The New York Sun's newsman Francis Pharcellus Church's response to then eight-year-old Virginia O'Hanlon has since become history's most reprinted newspaper editorial.  Is There A Santa Claus?   "We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of THE SUN: DEAR EDITOR:  I am 8 years old. Some of my little friends say there is no Santa Claus. Papa says, 'If you see it in THE SUN it's so.' Please tell me the truth; is there a Santa Claus? VIRGINIA O'HANLON. 115 WEST NINETY-FIFTH STREET.  

Christmas in Warrensburg: Join Adirondack Family Time for book signing

Join Adirondack Family Time author Diane Chase and Adirondack Outdoor Expeditions, LLC guide Tyler Chase for a book signing and knot tying activity at Willows Bistro , 3749 Main Street in Warrensburg on December 3 at 2:00 p.m. Part of Christmas in Warrensburg , Willows Bistro and Fiction Among Friends  with Persis Granger will present a variety of authors to round out your gift list.

Easy Short Adirondack Hikes f: Ticonderoga's Cook Mountain trail map (Lake George)

Image
Cook Mountain  Distance 1.3 miles one way Ascent 895' From the summit of Cook Mountain, you can enjoy an expansive view of northern Lake George The Cook Mountain Preserve was established in 1990 through the generous donation of 176 acres by Donald and Marjorie Delano, George’s grandchildren. In 1995, the Cook Mountain Preserve was expanded by an 18-acre parcel donated by Dr. and Mrs. George Boyle. Directions:   At the monument/traffic circle (Moses Circle) in Ticonderoga, head straight (south) on Lord Howe St. for 0.75 miles to a “T” intersection with Alexandria Street (County Route 5). Turn left and then immediately right onto Baldwin Road. Proceed south on Baldwin for 1.5 miles to the 192-acre Cook Mountain Preserve. Park to the right. © Diane Chase, author of Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities) for the towns of Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Jay/Upper Jay, Wilmington, Keene/Keene Valley whi

Ideas to Get Children Involved in Volunteering

Image
There are also plenty of opportunities to help those in need.  So during this Thanksgiving season, spend a few moments while filling yourself with turkey and the works and clean our your own cupboard .  I know I have quite a few things in there that I will never eat. Perhaps it is time to donate my few impulse buys to people that will actual use them.  If you children have toys in good shape or a coat they've grown out of, get kids involved. Have them look through their own belongings for items they have out grown but are willing to gift to others.  When I go grocery shopping, I give my children $1 so they can choose an item to put in the food pantry box at the front of the store.  Sometimes stores have a 10/$10 sale so the item costs less than a cup of coffee.  Every $1 helps.  I don't hunt. I did not grow up hunting and I don't even eat meat. That said, there are plenty of other people that do. (Thanks to Leo Roth at Democrat and Chronicle for this tip.

Saranac Lake: Pendragon Theatre presents To Kill A Mockingbird

Image
The Adirondack's only year-round professional theatre presents "To Kill A Mockingbird"  Performances  in Saranac Lake are:  November 17,18,19, 30 at 7:00 p.m.   December 1, 2 at 7:00 p.m.   The only matinee is Sunday, December 4, at 2:00 p.m.   The production will return to Saranac Lake for only one more performance  as a part of the Winter Carnival on February 11, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. To Kill A Mockingbird  will tour through March to schools and Arts Centers throughout the region. Consult the Pendragon Theatre’s website or contact the Pendragon Theatre directly for information about these performances “on the road”. Ticket prices are $20 adult, $18 senior and $10 for people under 17. For further information contact the theatre at: 518-891-1854,  via e-mail:  pdragon@northnet.org   or on the web: www.pendragontheatre.org.  © Diane Chase, author of Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (Your Four-Season Guide to Over 300 Activities) for

Easy Family-Friendly Winter Adventures Lecture at Winter Expo Saratoga Springs

Image
Are you going to the Adirondack Sports and Fitness Winter Sports and Healthy Living Expo ? Held at the Saratoga Springs City Center on Broadway from November 19, 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. and November 20, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.  There will be plenty of opportunities to meet vendors that make winter sports fun and easy! Here is a list of exhibitors.    If you want to learn some easy snowshoeing or XC skiing trails, stop by our seminar on November 19, 4:00 p.m. - 4:45 p.m. and we will go through some easy trails to access in the High Peaks, based on the 1st Adirondack Family Time Book: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks.  November 19, 4-4:45pm    Easy Family-Friendly Adirondack Adventures with Diane Chase ▪ Seminar Room Join us as we present a "slideshow" of short snowshoe walks and cross-country ski trails throughout the High Peaks region. Learn how to venture off the groomed paths while being comfortable and safe. Learn some fun activities to keep your kids engaged on the trails. 

Easy Short Lake Placid (NY) Hikes: The Brewster Peninsula Trails

Image
Located in Lake Placid, the Brewster Peninsula Nature Trail s are a multi-use trail system. These easy hiking trails are used year-round for the benefit of walkers, hikers, snowshoers and cross-country skiers.   

Lake Placid Center for the Arts presents The Hobbit

Image
The stage is set for Gandalf and thirteen mighty dwarves to enter The Shire to enlist a reluctant Bilbo Baggins to help on a quest to slay the evil dragon Smaug. For those Tolkien fanatics, this musical version, though authorized by J.R.R. Tolkien, has a bit of a surprise ending. For those unfamiliar with Tolkien’s “The Hobbit,” this play with over 50 local children will be the perfect introduction. “The Hobbit: or There and Back Again” was first published in 1937 by J.R.R. Tolkien and now promoted as a prelude to Tolkien’s most popular work “The Lord of the Rings” published seventeen years later in 1954. The book series has never been out of print. The books have been made into movies, cartoons, radio series, stage production and even a video game.

Easy Short Lake Placid Hikes: Monument Falls in Wilmington (NY)

Image
Commonly referred to as Monument Falls, this quick trip to a shallow waterfall is worth the stop between Lake Placid and Wilmington.  The two tablets  commemorate the 100th and 50th anniversaries of the establishment of the Forest Preserve in 1885. This a popular fishing spot so in season, please be prepared to share space with anglers.    There is a small path along the AuSable River that leads from the parking area to Monument Falls.  There are plenty of flat rocks to sit upon and to explore. 

Adirondack Ski Mountain Ski Swaps

By Diane Chase, from my weekly Adirondack Almanack post Being an active family, my kids seems to outgrown their sporting gear before I’ve finished tying up the laces. For other parents looking to outfit their children for the winter ski season, a ski swap is a nice starting place. A ski swap can also be a much-needed opportunity to clean house Generally the ski swaps are consignments where you drop off your gear, helmets, and winter clothing a day before the event. If the gear sells then you will receive 80% of the set sale price. Usually the funds generated benefit a special organization like ski clubs or ski patrols so the 20% commission goes to support the sport. It is best to ask what each ski swap's arrangement is, as it varies with location. Keep in mind no “collector’s items” like wooden skis and only clothing in good condition.   Lake Placid: November 5, 9:00 a.m. – noon In Lake Placid, the   Lake Placid Ski Club/NYSEF Ski Swap   is asking for any winter gear from