Adirondack Family Time™

Free Shakespeare in the Adirondack Park is on the road for its second year presenting live performances in various outdoor venues throughout the Park. For those in the Tri-Lakes it will all start tomorrow at White Pines Camp in Paul Smiths. The Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts in Blue Mountain Lake is bringing this performance to 20 towns within the Blue Line so don’t fret, there is plenty of opportunity to see this version of “Twelfth Night.” Last year’s performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” was a 45-minute romp within an Adirondack setting, lumberjacks and even a back-flipping Robin Goodfellow in snowshoes. This year’s play of mistaken identities will take us to a 1950s lakeside camp where Viola will find her way ashore during a 4th of July celebration. Believing her twin brother, Sebastian, did not survive the storm Viola dresses like a boy and all sorts of hijinks commence. This shortened version is a mixture of professional and amateur actors. The 7:00 p.m. performa

By Diane Chase “What’s the difference between a lie and a tall tale?” asks Bill Smith. “You don’t get a lickin’ for telling a tall tale.” That is how the storyteller recounts his youth at last year’s Adirondack Storytelling Festival in Old Forge at the McCauley Mountain Chalet. My son sits openmouthed while stories, yarns and tall tales range from Bill Smith’s folklore to author Joseph Bruchac’s Abenaki Indian heritage. The stage is set with a backdrop of a lean-to while storyteller after storyteller took the stage. My kids have grown up on audio stories. No matter their age, they are still enthralled with the magic of stories. The opportunity to watch the Bruchac books that my children have borrowed from the library come to life and to meet the author is a bonus. Adirondack nature walks and storytelling workshops, songs and craft centers were all around. One woman sits by her spinning wheel while a wood carver gave a brief lesson on whittling. The tone is casual and we hav

By Diane Chase Fighter planes and dogfights are just part of the program for the Mountain R/C Club’s annual air show in Old Forge this July 31st. The sky will be humming with replica WWII radio-controlled planes like the Spitfire, P51 Mustang, B25 Mitchell, F6F Hellcat as well as a few jet aircrafts and other more recent models. Event Director Walt Throne says, “ We are looking forward to having the same format as in years past. There will be a variety of planes and helicopters on the 31st.” Read more

By Diane Chase Jack and the Beanstalk may be considered a children’s story but the undertones of the Seagle Music Colony’s operatic rendition leaves anyone with an appreciation for music with his/her own interpretation. The giant does get his in the end, but it is not the end one is expecting. For adults there is the rich performance of the four gifted students and children listen in awe to a magical story. The bonus is being able to meet the fairytale characters, come-to-life, after the show. Read More

Rain in the distance. The weather is so crazy, rain one moment and sun the next. My daughter and I played stormchaser for a bit until I deemed it dangerous. I am not a good example of watching the road and focusing on the clouds and the colors in the sky. We pulled over and just sat back and watched until two different rainbows faded into the sky. Rainbows!

FREE 2010 YOUNG & FUN ARTS SERIES AT THE  LAKE PLACID CENTER FOR THE ARTS SELECT WEDNESDAYS IN THE LPCA THEATRE 10:30AM • FREE ADMISSION Seating is First-Come, First-Serve. Doors Open at 10:00 a.m.

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