Adirondack Family Time™

S honen Knife in Concert   Mt. Sabattis Pavilion in Long Lake Saturday July 28 Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Bring a picnic and a lawn chair. $15, Kids under 12 are free.  The all-girl Japanese Pop-Punk Band Shonen Knife recently completed  their 30th anniversary across North America and now will take a tour stop in Long Lake.  Formed in Osaka, Japan the band's music is heavily influenced by the Ramones and The Beach Boys.  Shonen Knife is the most internationally recognized name in Japanese Rock.  This project is sponsored by The Town of Long Lake and is made possible with public funds from the NYS Council on the Arts Decentralization Re-grant Program. In Hamilton County, the Decentralization Program is administered by the Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts, located in Blue Mountain Lake.

Movies Come Back To Berkeley Green I did not know much about Saranac Lake’s movie theatre history until my husband spoke of going to see a film in Saranac Lake. In addition to Vaudeville shows and Hollywood location shoots, Saranac Lake was once the home to three movie theatres and a drive-in at various times in its vast history. The Colonial Theatre, once located at 55 Broadway, opened in 1912 with seating for 500. It was later converted to a grocery in the mid 20s with the building eventually demolished in 1974. Community Bank stands in its location now. According to the Historic Saranac Lake Wiki page, the Pontiac Theatre was built at 13 Broadway in 1917 and at one time housed the largest movie screen in Northern New York. The Pontiac burned in 1978 and is currently a parking lot.    The Berkeley Theatre opened in the late 80s near the old Pontiac site and operated until the year 2000 in the basement of Corvo Restaurant, which is now Bear Essentials Apparel.

By Diane Chase For the 3rd year Amusements of America will be coming to Tupper Lake between stops at the Saratoga and Franklin County Fair. In case anyone is wondering about these traveling fairs, Saratoga County Fair (held in Ballston Spa) is one of the oldest fairs in New York State and still organized by the Saratoga Agricultural Society while the Franklin County Fair (held in Malone) is run by the Franklin County Agricultural Society and has continued to provide this annual event for over 150 years. Now the Tupper Lake Lions Club has gotten into the carnival game. From July 25-29 at the Tupper Lake Municipal Park there will be an assortment of carnival rides for children of all ages, from rides for small children to something the parents can share like the Ferris wheel, merry-go-round or the “dizzy dragon.” I can’t tell you what the last one is because when I spoke with Maurice from Amusements of America it sounded like he was on the Ferris Wheel at Saratoga County Fa

By Diane Chase Where’s Waldo? In Lake Placid celebrating his 25 th  birthday. Don’t bother looking for Waldo anywhere else but Lake Placid for the rest of July. He has taken over 20 businesses in celebration of the 55 million Waldo books in print. The Bookstore Plus was one of only 250 independent bookstores across the country that teamed with Candlewick Press to celebrate the popular “seek and find” books. We have been searching for Waldo up and down Main Street, Lake Placid for a few days. My daughter walks into one store and easily spots the 6” cardboard cutout of the familiar cartoon dressed in red and white stripes. Some shops hide the time-traveling, world-traveling children’s book character in plain site while other businesses make the search more of a family challenge.

By Diane Chase Don't just go up these Adirondack Mountain in the winter time during ski season. Enjoy a scenic view from the summit in the summer or fall.  Take a picnic, binoculars and even a light jacket. It can be a bit breezy on top.  McCauley Mountain Summer Rates:  Adults $6, Juniors (ages 6-16)/seniors (over 65) $5, Children age 5 & under free Hours:  Open Daily except Tuesdays 9am to 4:15pm (Closed Tuesdays except holiday weeks) Whiteface Mountai n June 15 – 24  |  Friday - Sunday June 29 – September 3  |  Daily  Closed Sunday July 22  for Ironman September 7 - October 14  |  Friday - Sunday  Monday, October 8 Hours: 9 am - 3:30 pm Summer Rates = Adults (13-64)/ $19, Juniors (7-12), Seniors (65+)/$13

By Diane Chase Last year Lake Clear’s Charlie’s Inn transformed into a bustling train depot of years’ past with a stagecoach, 1912 taxi and even hotelier Paul Smith greeting visitors. Well, he wasn’t the real Paul Smith. We were still able to gain quite a bit of knowledge regarding the importance of the Lake Clear Train Depot and the role it played for the Paul Smith’s Hotel. The event features live music, plenty of food, period games, and vendors. A special children’s activity to look forward to is the “Thomas the Train” race. Kids can paint small wooden train engines and later race against each other.  New this year is local storytellers sharing Lake Clear history for all to enjoy. There is a complete schedule of events at Charlie’s Inn,  www.charlies-inn.com .

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY! 

By Diane Chase You don't have to eat the insects but after a day at The Wild Center , you may want to. Join David George Gordon as he demonstrates popular world cuisine at the annual BuzzFest July 4 in Tupper Lake.  (There will also be a honey BBQ at the family-themed bug bash!)  You can be a bug detective, have insect races, look at a butterfly hatchery, learn fly tying and see a bee hive. There are so much to do and learn about the insect around us. It will be bee-autiful. (I couldn't resist!) Insect Fun Facts:  Mosquitos drink more than its total body weight in a single sitting. Black flies inject a blood thinner while biting its meal to keep the blood from coagulating.  Learn more at The BuzzFest!

Lake George Theater Lab Shakes on the Lake is a fresh modern take on Shakespeare’s classic plays. Run by Daniel Spector from The Classical Studio at NYU Tisch School of the Arts Shakes on the Lake Two Gentlemen of Verona by William Shakespeare Directed by Daniel Spector July 5 th  10:30 AM • July 6 th  10:30 AM, 7:30 PM • July 7 th,  7:30 PM FREE and OUTDOORS!! New Play Lab Stupid *ing Bird by Aaron Posner Directed by Howard Shalwitz with Woolly Mammoth Theater Company June 30 th ; 6 PM • Bolton Free Library Original Ghost Stories Written by the Youngblood Crew Directed by Rosemary Andress July 27th & 28th • The Sagamore

July 1 The Joe Bolton Band  July 4 Floyd Community Instrumental Ensemble  (Fireworks)  July 8 Easy Money (Big Band Jazz)  July 15 Soul Injection (Light Jazz)  July 22 Al Nathan Band  July 29 Johnson & Company  August 5 Joe Angerosa “The Elvis Show”  August 12 Horseshoe Lounge Playboys (Acoustic Backwoods Americana)  August 19 Gwen Tracy Band  August 26 Al Nathan Band   September 2 Paul Case Band & Fireworks  Sundays at 7:00 p.m. Rain location—Hiltebrant Recreation Center Pavilion On North Street (except 7/1 & 7/29)  ©  Diane Chase is the author of Adirondack Family Activities™ guidebook series  Adirondack Family Time™ available online or bookstores/museums/sporting good stores. 

In 1889, William West Durant established one such town on Long Point of Raquette Lake . He built a post office there and a general store, naming the town Durant , NY . A year later, he responded to the needs of the Catholics in the area by donating the land, the materials and the money to build a Catholic Church just down the shore from the general store.  Designed by the J.C. Cady Company of New York City , the church was completed in 1890 by Hammond and Mosher, a contracting company in Saratoga Springs . William West Durant  entitled the church St. William's. The following year, the Franciscan Friars, Order of Friars Conventual, began administering to the needs of the parishioners of St. William's. As transportation technology advanced and the railroad arrived within the blue line, the water-locked town of Durant , NY (having changed its name to Raquette lake soon after its creation)  relocated to its present location, where the railroad spur from New York City ended. Still

Lake George has fireworks  at dusk every   Thursday  during the summer months of July and August. So head to Lake George Village at about 9:30 each week to watch the sparks fly... Oh yeah, and don't forget about  Fourth of July fireworks near Lake George !

United States of America Flag Facts 1) On June 14,1777 the US  Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes as the national flag 2) 1912:  President William Taft issued an executive order dictating the proportions for the flag and placement of the stars. Before that it was left up to the flag maker. 3) 1916: President Woodrow Wilson issued the proclamation establishing June 14 as Flag Day, though it is not a federal holiday many states do celebrate it as a state holiday. 4)  Betsy Ross, credited with sewing the nation’s first flag, was an upholsterer not a seamstress  5)  The U.S. flag has been changed 27 times since 1777. The 50-star flag used today was created in July 4, 1960 when Hawaii became the 50th state. That version has been used the longest.  6) 1949: President Harry Truman signed into law June 14 as national Flag Day. © Diane Chase, author of Adirondack Family Activities™ guidebook series.   Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (Your Four-Season Guide