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FREE Family Winter Film Series with the Champlain Valley Film Society

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The Champlain Valley Film Society and I have a special relationship. There are opportunities in this world that are in our neighborhoods and we just can't be bothered taking advantage of it.  I had read about Film Society showing the Oscar nominated film "Captain Phillips." As it turns out the real Captain Richard Phillips had a connection to Essex, NY and the Champlain Valley Film Society. Not only was my family able to watch the film on the big screen, but we were able to participate in a Q&A with Phillips. My children still talk about the experience today.  Now the Film Society is doing something for families. Throughout the winter months, CV Film Society will be hosting three family-friendly films for free at the Whallonsburg Grange location.  December 7, Sunday, 2 pm: "Babe" i s based on the Dick King-Smith's book "The Sheep-Pig" in which an orphaned piglet is brought home and raised by border collies. When Babe helps stop a pac

Ten (10) Charity programs: Donate money without spending an extra cent!

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Earth in Hands design by Kat as  turp.deviant.com Adirondack Giving Tuesday Can Happen All Year Long! Even though #GivingTuesday is officially the Tuesday after Black Friday, Small Business Saturday and Cyber Monday, I always hope that the act of giving will remain an everyday occurrence for my children. It is wonderful that such huge event remind us that giving is much more important than getting. It is also important to remember that it doesn't always have to be a grand gesture. Sometimes the small gestures are the ones that count the most.   Since #GivingTuesday only happens one time a year, here are 10 other programs that make the act of giving an everyday experience every time you shop, do an internet search or play a game. The programs listed below do not cost you one penny. These are all corporate affiliate programs that allow a percentage of your everyday purchases to go to the cause of your choice. Keep in mind these suggestions are in no way  a substitute for

Picture Quote: Snow!

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"Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood."  ~Andy Goldworthy, artist

Small Business Saturday in the Adirondack High Peaks

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Holiday shopping can be stressful, but I like to look at it as more like a treasure hunt. I want to find the ideal present. Around the Adirondacks many local merchants will be offering discounts and sales throughout Thanksgiving weekend. The wonderful thing is that these local businesses have handpicked each store item.  Here are a few things on my “To Do List.” Gift baskets are popular items for my extended family. I fill the baskets with local cheeses, Adirondack-made condiments, candles and maple products from Nori's Village Market and Green Goddess Natural Foods . I add packets of original notecards from artists at various galleries or Adirondack  made chocolates such as Barkeater Chocolate in North Creek, Adirondack Chocolates in Wilmington or Lake Placid Chocolatiers .    One family member enjoys complex puzzles and card games. A stop at Goody Goody’s or Imagination Station allows me the opportunity to talk with a person that has actually played the games and can a

18 Holiday Festivals around the Adirondacks and Beyond

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Around the Adirondacks local stores and businesses aren’t feeling the pressure to celebrate early. They are saving their energy and pulling out all the stops for a Black Friday and Small Business Saturday weekend that is uniquely Adirondack.   These events give you enough time to let your turkey dinner settle down while festive enough to gesture in the Christmas spirit.  As you can see from the schedule at the end of the page, various towns stagger the events so you can attend one or all! Children will be able to make crafts to give as gifts, enjoy horse wagon rides or participate in free puppet shows, movies and treasure hunts. We always took advantage of those free activities to slip away and get a bit of our holiday shopping completed.  Speculator is hosting its Holiday stroll  on November 28 with gift certificates, give-aways and discounts topped off with Victorian carolers while Lake George plans on making the village glow with over 15,000 lights on November 29.   I

Mount Pisgah (Saranac Lake) Multi-Use Trails

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It seems like this is finally the time that the snow may stick around. Some ski mountains are able to make snow so we can get on those trails as quickly as possible while others wait until Mother Nature helps with that base layer. I am still in autumn mode, even with shoveling snow. I am not so quick to pass up that beautiful time of year. I like the chilly nights and warmish days. That is why I live here. Every season is so different and I enjoy each one. Yes, even mud season. Look for more 33 easy hikes, snowshoe/XC trails swimming holes and over 300 activities in Adirondack Family Time: Tri-Lakes and High Peaks (covering Lake Placid, Saranac Lake and more) Recently my daughter and her friends had suffered through my list of errands and really needed a place to run around.  I didn’t want to get into a long hike and they didn’t either. My husband recommended the new trails behind the tennis courts at Mount Pisgah, Saranac Lake. What started as a quick jaunt, turned into a w

Ski or Ride FREE with NYS Third and Fourth Grader Passport

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This Adirondack Mama always thinks that I have stumbled upon the deal of the century, only to find that everyone is already in on the family fun. So just in case I am not the last person to find out that New York State is once again offering the FREE Ski and Ride Passport Program to all third (3rd) and fourth (4th) grade children, I’m here to let you in on the secret. The program was first established in 2000 to introduce children to skiing and promote a healthy lifestyle choice. The passport offers free lift tickets to 31  New York ski mountains including 7 Adirondack ski resorts and other discounts like soft drink coupons. Personally, the beverage option seems to cancel out the healthy lifestyle choice. On the other hand, perhaps it may help encourage a child to get off the couch and onto the slopes.

Easy Short Adirondack Family Fun Hikes: The Ladies' Mile at the Ausable Club

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By Diane Chase, Adirondack Family Time™ There are so many options for families and kids to hike in the Adirondack woods. Though my husband is a  Adirondack  46er a couple times over and still enjoys hiking the High Peaks, he also likes to share simple trails. One  favorite  place is  the Ausable Club's  “Ladies Mile.” My first thought was he was joking. There is such a thing as a ladies’ mile? Have I been walking a man-mile all this time and not knowing it? I am going to run a 5K and I’m not in shape. So if a ladies’ mile is shorter, I plan on requesting a few of them.  No such luck.  The Ladies’ Mile is a beautiful path, part of the private Adirondack Mountain Reserve (AMR) and  Ausable Club . Though the public has permission to hike in the AMR it is still private land and has strict rules to follow in order to have access. No dogs, camping or swimming. (Please do not leave the trails and carry out anything you bring in.)

“Red Army” Documentary skates into Lake Placid Film Forum November 7-8

The Lake Placid Film Forum performed quite a coup in grabbing Gabe Polsky's film "Red Army" before its official national opening in New York next week. This award-winning film will be shown at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts for this weekend only, before being released to all major commercial movie houses.  Director Gabe Polsky, “Red Army” goes behind the Iron Curtain and tracks the Soviet Union’s hockey team domination to its unraveling at the Lake Placid 1980 Winter Olympic Games to its ultimate demise.  Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kathleen CarrolI first saw the ”Red Army” at a film screening during the New York Film Festival. She knew immediately that this would be an important film to show in Lake Placid with its focus on the Cold War Russian dominance of hockey, ties to the 1980 Winter Olympic Russian hockey team and the United States Olympic gold medal win, dubbed “The Miracle on Ice.” “I knew this film’s conn

"Pippi Longstocking: A Family Musical" Brings Adventure to Saranac Lake's Pendragon Theatre

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(Saranac Lake) This year’s Rising Star Productions has found a new home for its fall children's musical at Pendragon Theatre . Over 30 area kids will be on stage to dance and sing their way through the pages of the classic 1945 Swedish book series “Pippi Langstrump” by Astrid Lindgren. This family-friendly show is a fun kids' activity, appropriate for all ages. The book series was adapted for the stage by Sebastian and Staffan Gotestam and became “Pippi Longstocking: The Family Musical.” This two-act play is directed by McCayla Quinn and focuses on the free-spirited adventures of the red-haired, self-reliant character Pippi (played by Robyn Rutgers) who lives with her horse and pet monkey in the Villekulla Cottage while her sea captain father (Simon Thill) is out at sea. “There are all sorts of hijinks throughout the show,” says Quinn. “Pippi stops thieves from stealing her pirate gold. She takes over the circus where she is stronger than Mighty Adolf, the strongest

Five (5) Spooky Adirondack Family Halloween Events

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Halloween is all about being scared so here are five ideas from mildly scary to an Adirondack fright night for all ages to enjoy! Enjoy these ghoulish ideas!  Halloween or All Hallows’ Eve is one of my favorite events. I love seeing all the costumes and creativity that goes into dressing up for a holiday that holds its roots in the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain. Some sources state the name Samhain originating from two Gaelic words, “sam” and “fain” meaning “end of summer.”  The harvest festival was to bring an end to the harvest and gesture in the beginning of the cold of winter. With superstition and religious undertones, Halloween was also a time that people thought the divide between worlds thinned and the dead could return to cause mischief such as crop failure and famine. All Hallows’ Eve also precedes the Christian festival honoring its saints. Now we celebrate with candy, costumes and a bit of the harvest with numerous activities, some for the brave of heart, bu

Easy Short Adirondack Hikes: Inlet Raquette Lake (NY) hikes: Cathedral Pines

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Cathedral Pines Distance  0.1 mile Dedicated to the memory of  Malcolm L. Blue ,  a young navigator of the 8th  Air Force ,  is a plaque affixed a stone monument. The walk is relatively level with a few uphill treks but no significant gain/loss in elevation. Watch out for roots which are plentiful. The monument is just a few minutes’ walk from the highway.  This hike isn't just for  kids, but is an easy Adirondack family hike is  a quick wooded walk for all level of hiker including grandparents or with your dog. The plaque reads: “This tree, Created by God and  Old When Our Country Was Born , Fine and  Straight-Grained Like  the  Boy Himself , is Dedicated in Memory of 2nd  Lt. Malcolm L. Blue , Navigator of a  Liberation Bomber With Eight Air Force . Killed in  Action Over France June  2nd, 1944.  Few Men Have Earned  so Fine a Memorial.”  The treasure to look for is a small monument dedicated to the memory of a World War II navigator of the 852 nd Bo

Coping With the Death of a Pet:

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The Rainbow Bridge:  Norse Legends, Lost Pets and Natural Parks When our family dog, Ella, had a stroke she didn't magically disappear and reappear a few weeks later as a puppy. She died on a sidewalk at 8 pm during a busy weekend in Ocean Beach, Fire Island. There was no way to cover up that she had passed on. She did so right in front of my son. It was horrible and uplifting all in the same moment. My husband and I had to make quick decisions because the vet was off island and we had to bury her in my mother-in-law's yard that night. The police grabbed table clothes from nearby restaurants and got a trolley to wheel our dog to our house. My children and I followed behind while people shielded their own children from the site of our beloved Ella. My children were beside us when we wrapped her in the cloth and put her in the ground. My children got flowers from the neighbors and we walked to the beach and threw flowers into the ocean waves lighted by a full moon.