Adirondack Family Time™

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.

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

Treat your little princess (or prince) to a weekend at the Lake Placid Olympic Center with Disney on Ice.  This is family time at its best!  So don't be discouraged by this warm weather, you can be back skiing the slopes of Whiteface tomorrow. Enjoy some inside activities and leave plenty of time to hit the slopes tomorrow! There are tickets still available! Times Friday, February 18: 7:00 p.m. Saturday, February 19: 12:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Sunday, February 20: 3:00 p.m. Monday, February 21: 2:00 p.m.   Ticket prices: $35 for rinkside seating $20 lower level seating $15 upper level seating  

Perhaps you have not heard of the play “It Seams Like A Mystery” showing this weekend at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA.) This play takes the meaning of children’s theater to a new level. Lake Placid High School sophomore Joan O’Leary wrote the production. Not her first foray into direction or play writing, the talented girl wrote her first play when she was only ten, and has continued to develop her passion for live theatre by continuing to write and direct original plays. From family plays to St. Agnes’s eighth grade production, Joan made the leap to the professional stage in 2010.

Making a treat for the birds is something that can be done anytime and is simple and easy to do. The children love it and any remains (if the dog doesn't get to it first) can be used again. Making This can be done no matter where you live. Materials: ribbon or string, peanut butter, bird seed, pretzel rods

The 1932 & 1980  Lake Placid  Winter Olympic Museum is a quick and fun view of the impact the Olympics have had the Adirondack community of Lake Placid.  Location: 2634 Main Street Hours: Open Thursday through Monday  from 10 am - 5 pm (closed Thanksgiving, Ironman Sunday, and Christmas as well as noon - 1 pm)  Admissions: Adults/ $8.00, Srs.(65+) and Jrs. (12 and under) $6.00, Children six and under/ FREE Call 518-523-1655 ext: 226  The five Olympic interlocking rings represent the five continents of the world, united by Olympism  according to  Pierre de Coubertin, the father of the modern Olympic Games (1931) Safety First! 

Don't be a Scrooge! Check out Pendragon Theatre's performance of A Christmas Carol.  Call 518-891-1854 for reservations. Tickets are $10.00 for adults and $8.00 for those under 17 At the Pendragon stage December 18 and 19, 2:00 p.m. 7:00 p.m.  December 21, 22, 23, 7:00 p.m.  At the Lake Placid Center for the Arts December 27, 28, 7:00 p.m. 

By Diane Chase Tucked in the lower level of the Saranac Lake Free Library is “the finest collection of Adirondack animals ever gathered in one place.” These animals are not wild anymore or even tame for that matter. The   Charles Dickert Wildlife Collection   is a one-room museum dedicated to the works of taxidermist, Charles Dickert. Read more 

My little nugget is now on her second dose of antibiotics for Strep. To keep her busy we've been making paper chains. Above is template I made if you need something to occupy your own children. We just used recycled newspaper but anything will do. Here is the Adirondack Family Time tutorial . Enjoy!

By Diane Chase Circus Smirkus is coming to Plattsburgh this weekend, July 2-3 behind the Crete Memorial Center, 4 Beach Road. Since 1987, Circus Smirkus has provided an avenue for young people ages 11-18 an opportunity to learn circus performing arts through in-school and summer circus camp opportunities. Children are representing this year’s Big Top from 13 states and the United Kingdom. This lofty goal initiated a movement to teach fundamentals as well as creativity from coaches from around the world as far reaching as China, Russia, Mongolia and around the U.S. Children are immersed in the traditional circus lifestyle. They learn multiple circus acts as well as technical aspects like staging, concession, cleaning and rigging all while living at the Vermont base. There is even a Smirkling Camp for children ages 6 to 8. So children can actually run away to the circus. The relief for parents is to know that it’s under the guise of summer camp. There is no Circus Smirkus camp for pa

By Diane Chase Though it seems against the whole idea of summer vacation and getting outside, children can become Web Rangers and learn about all the various National Parks. It is an opportunity to experience all the National Parks, Monuments and Historic Sites from the comfort of your own home. By all means, this is no substitute for a nature hike and being active. It is a nice learning experience under the guise of a rainy day activity . Choose from over 50 activities that allow children ages 8-16 to learn more about each of our national parks. There is even an opportunity to get a WebRanger patch. A sampling of activities are People – Decode Washington's secret messages. History – Travel the seas in 1812 on a Navy war ship Nature – Read a map to figure out the quest. Puzzles – Go on a website scavenger hunt Science – Match dinosaurs to their diet. Parks – Play “Alpha Codes." Animals - Guess the animals in your parks We choose to set a limit on how much com

Though ideally my children’s summer vacation should be spent outside building forts, catching fish and living a childhood reminiscent of a Mark Twain story, I am all about the back-up plan. My children’s video game experience so far has been gained from friends and visiting family, I am not sure how far I can press those relationships to include 90 days of gaming. I know I would not want that even if it were offered. Healthy indoor activities can be limited. That end of school transition can be challenging when the school schedules are replaced with other events. Sometimes we find we need to have a routine to keep the peace in the family. As my children grow older I want to make sure those events are positive activities and not directionless hanging out. TFree summer bowling card for students Once again Romano’s Saranac Lanes is offering every student in Saranac Lake a free summer bowling game card. The offer started June 1 and runs through August 31. So for 90 days my children and yo

Sometimes my children seem to forget that spring is a season. To them it seems more pit stop to summer than an event of its own. After a long winter, that seemed to want to continue with those late snowfalls, our house is a rush of summertime activity. My children want to discontinue jackets while one even attempts to boycott long pants. I am afraid to pack up the boots and coats because last time I stored the winter gear it snowed. I am just superstitious enough to believe that there is a connection. The 1st annual Daffest will be a wonderful way to really cement the idea that spring deserves celebrating on its own. Saranac Lake’s new community event will paint the town yellow in 2011. Pathways and parks will be a bloom of color. Over a million bulbs will be planted this fall out and around Saranac Lake. To find out how to help, please go to daffest.com. Bulbs are available for purchase at a variety of sponsorship and donor levels. After a long winter a million daffodils will be a wel

By Diane Chase Personally I like to see my fish on a platter with a slice of lemon but I am out voted every time. My children and husband love to fish though they mostly subscribe to the “catch and release” philosophy. Part of me thinks that it is because my children are not really successful with the catching part making the release a foregone conclusion. Read More

By Diane Chase May 1st is always a celebration of spring. Whether you choose to give a May Day Basket or a Tussie-Mussie, it is a wonderful way to highlight the change in seasons. The May Day basket dates back to ancient Roman festivals of spring. Pick or buy a bouquet of flowers and arrange place them in a basket. Secretly place them on the door of a neighbor. This an excellent activity for you to do with your children as it gives them a sense of doing something altruistic. It is a kind gesture and can bring a sense of community. A tussie-mussie is a nosegay of flowers and herbs bound together by a ribbon or a doily and chosen for the message it conveys. This old-fashioned nosegay or posy delivers a message to the recipient. The sentiment is entirely up to the maker of the tussie-mussie. Use roses and myrtle to express love or lavender to show happiness. Don’t forget to add a card which clearly defines the meanings of each plant included in the tussie-mussie so your sentiments will

In a report from Plastiki , Adventure Ecology founder and environmentalist David de Rothschild and his intrepid crew; Jo Royle, David Thomson, Olav Heyerdahl along with National Geographic filmmaker Max Jourdan and Myoo Media’s Vern Moen set sail on the Plastiki, a 60 ft catamaran engineered from approximately 12,500 reclaimed plastic bottles and srPET, a fully recyclable material. An ‘off‐the‐grid’ vessel relying primarily on renewable energy systems, the Plastiki and her crew will journey more than 11,000 nautical miles drawing attention to the health of our oceans, in particular the colossal amounts of plastic debris, by showcasing waste as a resource and demonstrating real world solutions through the design and construction of the Plastiki. The Plastiki began her adventure nearly four years ago after taking inspiration from a report issued by UNEP called ‘Ecosystems and Biodiversity in Deep Waters and High Seas’ and Thor Heyerdahl’s epic 1947 expedition, The Kon‐Tiki. True to Adv

"

By Diane Chase When do you ever hear the words library and mini golf in the same sentence? I haven’t seen the Weekender write-up but I hope that it includes at the very least the word oxymoron and possibly “brilliant idea.” So if you are heading to the links this weekend perhaps a warm-up at the Saranac Lake Free Library is worth the trip. You can get in a bit of putting practice while supporting a good cause. Five dollars for eighteen holes of play has to be the best deal in town. The library will be closed for regular services on Saturday but this will give us all an opportunity to explore every nook our library has to offer. One part I am looking forward to is on the walls. The original artwork, which has been appraised, is currently being upgraded with archival materials one piece at a time. The staff has been updating the old catalog that includes write-ups about the original artwork, some donated by tuberculosis patients taking “the cure.” We each have our favorite sections of

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

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