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The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival, the oldest winter festival in the eastern United States, will celebrate its 103nd anniversary when it returns to the Adirondack Mountain village of Saranac Lake, NY from February 4 to 13, 2000. The theme for 2000 is "Boogie Down Broadway." The Winter Carnival's origins can be found in Saranac Lake's history as a world-famous health resort. In 1897, the first year of the event, the village was already a thriving community nestled deep in the Adirondack wilderness, its pristine setting providing rejuvenation for hundreds of tuberculosis sufferers drawn from all over North America. In the course of "taking the cure" here, many patients experienced a renewed passion for life, and took every opportunity - in every season - to explore the natural beauty that surrounded them. The long, cold Adirondack winters offered an array of snow-covered mountains and ice-covered lakes, begging to be enjoyed on skis, sleds and skates. Thus, to break winter's chill and to promote "outdoor sports and games", the Pontiac Club was formed in 1896, and a year later, they sponsored the first "Mid-Winter Carnival". The first Winter Carnival was a two-day affair that sponsored skating races, a parade and an "ice tower" - features that have been, in one form or another, part of every Carnival since. Today's Carnival - now nine days long - still begins with the Coronation of the King and Queen. This honor is bestowed upon two local citizens, in recognition of their substantial volunteer efforts throughout the year. Joining them are a Prince and Princess, elected at the two local colleges, a Court made up of local high school seniors, Pages chosen from the elementary schools, and an Archbishop and Chamberlain, who tend to such duties as proclamations and the crowning of the royal couple. Each Carnival revolves around a theme, which provides a framework for, among other things, Carnival decorations, the Gala Parade and the Carnival button. Since 1981, the button has sported an exclusive design donated by Garry Trudeau, the Pulitzer Prize-winning creator of "Doonesbury", and a native of Saranac Lake! Themes in the past have included "Dreams", "Cabin Fever" and "Hooray for Holidays." The Winter Carnival still offers a fascinating array of sporting events. These include snowshoe and nordic ski races at the Dewey Mountain Cross-Country Ski Center, innertube and alpine ski races down the slopes of Mount Pisgah, skating races, broomball and hockey games at the Saranac Lake Civic Center, volleyball played in knee-deep snow, softball played on snowshoes, and a competitive display of traditional logging skills. The Carnival now plays host to two parades. The Gala Parade, held on the next-to-last day of Carnival, sees the entire community engaged in an animated march through town, regaled in comical costumes, riding upon dozens of colorful floats, accompanied by legions of bands in a jubilant throwing-off of winter's chill. The next day, Saranac Lake's children get their chance to strut their stuff, when they march down Main Street in the colorful and enchanting Kiddie Parade.
1999 saw the addition of a murder mystery theatre and a concert on the first weekend; a tradition to be repeated in the year 2000. The palace was an outgrowth of the village's ice industry, which, in the days before electric refrigerators, harvested ice from local lakes for use in ice boxes across the country and around the world. Despite some refinements in machinery, the Palace is still constructed in much the same manner as it was in 1898, the first year it was built. Legend has it though that the Palace was created to house the Winter Carnival Macott, Sara the Snowy Owl, About six weeks before the Carnival, an ice field is marked off on Pontiac Bay on Lake Flower; once a suitable ice thickness has been achieved, cutting with long ice saws begins. The blocks taken from the lake are two feet wide and four feet long, are anywhere from one-and-a-half to three feet thick, and weigh between four and eight hundred pounds! These are moved onshore via a conveyor belt, and are maneuvered into place with "peaveys" - metal-tipped poles with hinged metal hooks - and ice tongs. The blocks are secured to one another with a "mortar" made of slush. While designs may vary from year to year, each palace has, on average, over 1500 blocks in it, and ranges from 70 to 90 feet in length and 40 to 60 feet in height. Within each design is an array of colored lights, that each night transforms the Palace into a vivid sculpture of ice and light! Once completed, the Ice Palace stands as both centerpiece and symbol for the Winter Carnival: for what distinguishes Saranac Lake's mid-winter festival is that it is brought about by the efforts of its citizens, volunteering their time, energy, enthusiasm and resources so that their children, their neighbors and their guests can enjoy another Carnival. Future Winter Carnivals: February 2-11, 2001; February 1-10, 2002; January 31- February 9, 2003; February 6 - 15, 2004; February 4-13, 2005; and February 3-12, 2006
"BOOGIE DOWN
BROADWAY"
Friday, February 4: 6 p.m. Saranac Lake Hockey, Olympic Center, LP 7:30 p.m. Coronation Of Carnival Royalty Harrietstown Town Hall Sponsored By Women's Civic Chamber Reception Following Ceremony At The Waterhole #3 Saturday, February 5: 10 a.m. Ice Palace Fun Run (4 mile), Ice Palace Noon/2 p.m. Lake Placid Hockey Tournament Olympic Center, LP 2 p.m. Woodsmen's Exhibition, Riverside Park 2 p.m. Pendragon Middle School Play, Pendragon ($) 2 p.m. PSC Men’s Hockey vrs SUNY Morrisville, Civic Center 2 p.m. PSC Women’s Basketball vrs J.C. of Albany, Buxton Gymnasium 5:30 p.m. Slay Ride 2000, Mystery Theatre Hotel Saranac ($) 6:30 p.m. Lighting Of Ice Palace, State Boat Launch Fireworks Display State Boat Launch 7:30 p.m. Concert, Harrietstown Town Hall ($) Sunday, February 6: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. ATV Races, Lake Colby 10 a.m. White Stag Downhill Ski Races, Mt. Pisgah ($) 10 a.m. Empire State Games Qualifier, Dewey Mountain ($) Noon Adult/Kids Cross Country Ski Races, Dewey Mountain ($) 1 p.m. - 6 p.m. Arctic Barbecue, Mt. Pisgah ($) 1 p.m. PSC Men’s Hockey vrs Monroe CCC, Civic Center 2 p.m. Pendragon Middle School Play, Pendragon ($) 2 p.m. PSC Women’s Basketball vrs Clinton CCC, Buxton Gymnasium 6 p.m. Torchlight Skiing, Mt. Pisgah 7:30 p.m. Pendragon Middle School Play, Pendragon ($) Monday, February 7: 1 p.m. Judging Of Snow and Ice Sculptures, Various Sites 7:30 p.m. Interfaith Service in Celebration, St. Luke's with Adirondack Children's Choir Tuesday, February 8: 3:30 p.m. Scavenger Hunt Getaway for middle school students, Youth Center 6 p.m. Grand Marshal Reception, TBA 7 p.m. Royalty Dinner, TBA Wednesday, February 9: 6 p.m. Snowshoe Races (all ages), Dewey Mountain 7 pm, Past Winter Carnival Royalty Court Dinner, TBA ($) 7 p.m. PSC Men’s Basketball vrs Suny Canton, Buxton Gymnasium Thursday, February 10: 7:30 p.m. Figure Skating Show, Sponsored by McDonalds Civic Center ($4, $2) Friday, February 11: 10 a.m. Innertube Races, sponsored by Adirondack Bank, Mt. Pisgah ($) 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Winter Carnival Book Sale, Saranac Lake Free Library 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Skating Races, Civic Center 5:30 p.m. Slay Ride 2000, Mystery Theatre, Hotel Saranac ($) 7:30 p.m. Rotary Club Variety Show, Harrietstown Town Hall ($6) 8 p.m. Pendragon Play, Pendragon ($) Saturday, February 12: 7 a.m. - 10 a.m. Pancake Breakfast - Whiteface Mt. Lodge 789, Masonic Temple ($) 8:30 a.m. - 9 a..m. Breakfast, McDonald's with Grimace McDonalds 9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m. Meet The Carnival Characters, Ice Palace 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Annual Winter Carnival Book Sale, Saranac Lake Free Library 11 a.m. Rugby Game, SL Mountaineers, Petrova Field 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saranac Lake Lions Chili Sale, Harrietstown Town Hall 11 a.m. PSC Woodsmen's Exhibition, Riverside Park 11 a.m. Lions Chili Sale Harrietstown, Town Hall ($) Noon Parade Line Up Lake, Colby Drive 1 p.m. Gala Parade, Broadway To Main Street Following Parade Band Concert, Harrietstown Town Hall 7 p.m. PSC Men’s Basketball vrs J.C. of Albany, Buxton Gymnasium 8 p.m. Dance, Hotel Saranac ($) 8 p.m. Pendragon Performance, Pendragon ($) 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. Semi-Formal High School Dance, SLHS ($) Sunday, February 13: 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. ATV Races Lake Colby 11 a.m. Snowflake Volleyball Tournament, Civic Center Rotary Field 11 a.m. Snowshoe Softball, Lions Fields 11:30 - 3 p.m. Snowy Owl Face Painting (for children), Harrietstown Town Hall 2 p.m. Kiddie Parade, sponsored by Kinney Drugs and Keeseville Pepsi-Cola, Hotel Saranac To Town Hall 2:30 p.m. Getaway Main Street Obstacle Races, Main Street 3 p.m. Fifth Annual Winter Carnival Baroque Concert sponsored by S.L.Y.A.A., Methodist Church (Donation) 7:30 p.m. Carnival Slide Show, Ice Palace Gala Fireworks Display, Ice Palace The Tri-Lakes Amateur Radio Club will be set up at Depot (on Depot Street) in operation 10 am to 3 pm, February 5 and 6 plus February 12 and 13. Frequencies to be used will be: 3.920 MHz from 10 am until 11 am, 7.250 MHz from 11 am until 1 pm, 14.257 MHz from 1 pm until 3 pm. The schedule is constantly changing with new events being added Winter Carnival Buttons are available at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce. Accommodation information may be viewed at www.saranaclake.com |
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