The Old Forge Winter Carnival on February 14, 15 and 16 featured a parade up Main Street, ice skating, and various other outdoor family activities and competitions at McCauley Mountain.
Photo by Gina Greco
This year’s king and queen, Tim and Patty Foley, were crowned at a coronation ceremony on Saturday night that was preceded by torchlight and daredevil skiing.
A fireworks display, music by Joe Bolton and John Christy, and dancing at the McCauley Chalet followed. Continue reading
The Old Forge Winter Carnival Committee is encouraging all winter enthusiasts to join in the carnival parade up Main Street on Friday, February 14, the kick-off event of carnival weekend which will be held on Saturday and Sunday, February 15 and 16 at McCauley Mountain.
This year’s theme is “Old Forge Loves the Olympics,” in celebration of the 2014 Winter Olympic Games and Valentine’s Day.
Marching in the parade will be Grand Marshal John “Louie” Ehrensbeck, a former Olympian who trained at McCauley Mountain, past carnival royalty, and soon-to-be-crowned king and queen Tim and Patty Foley.
The parade starts at 6:45 p.m. from the Town of Webb School bus circle and the committee welcomes entries from the creative to the zany. Line-up begins at 6:30 p.m.
Following the parade, there will an ice skating party at the outdoor rink on Joy Tract Road. Bring your own skates and enjoy a bonfire, music and hot cocoa.
Old Forge Winter Carnival is a Central Adirondack Association event. More information is available by calling (315) 369-6983.
Old Forge’s annual Winter Carnival weekend will be held Friday through Sunday, February 14 through 16 with events held in the village and at McCauley Mountain.
With the event taking place on Valentine’s Day and in the midst of the 2014 Winter Olympics, the Winter Carnival committee has announced, “We LOVE the Olympics,” as this year’s theme.
Selected to serve as the Winter Carnival King and Queen are Tim and Patty Foley of Old Forge.
As longtime skiers and supporters of the Polar Bear Ski Club, the Foleys were instrumental in helping to resurrect the Winter Carnival—an early-day annual tradition that had gone dormant for decades.
It was Tim’s fond childhood memories of the early Winter Carnival, coupled with a mission to shine more light on McCauley Mountain as a community asset, that motivated he and Patty to form a committee of like-minded individuals in the mid-1990’s. Continue reading
With the area receiving 22 inches of powdery snow in the last two days, McCauley Mountain Manager Steve Uzdavinis has announced that the mountain will begin its full winter season of operation on Saturday, December 14th.
Due to low temperatures that allowed for snowmaking conditions in November, the mountain has been open weekends since Friday, November 30—the earliest opening in 25 years. Continue reading
Councilwoman Kate Russell reported Tuesday that all of the new energy efficient windows have been installed at the McCauley Mountain chalet in time for the new ski season, and the improvement in the chalet’s interior warmth is significant.
Also helping is the removal of a roof that had been installed years ago temporarily, but never disassembled. Now the sun is able to shine through the windows, warming the interior, Russell said. Continue reading
The Polar Bear Ski Club, which bought and assembled a yurt at McCauley Mountain in 2011 for it’s alpine team, has requested permission to erect a second yurt for its nordic racers.
The request was made to the Town of Webb Board by Polar Bear President Diane Heroux.
The Polar Bear yurts are roughly circular at 30 feet in diameter and dome upward to a slight point.
The new yurt would be located near the current packer garage at the end of the parking lot.
The use would be similar to that of the existing yurt with skiers being able to gather, warm themselves and store equipment.
The cost would be similar to the first yurt, Heroux said.
That would mean about $21,000 with another $5,000 for foundation, electrical and other costs.
“We are asking the Town for permission, so that we may order the yurt as soon as possible, as it takes about 12 weeks from order until delivery,” Heroux said.
The Town Board agreed the yurt would be a welcome addition to McCauley and resolved Tuesday to support the project.
The costs will again be bourne by the Polar Bear Ski Club.
For the purpose of implementing an Existing Facilities Program or a FlexTech Program for McCauley Mountain through the NYS Energy Research and Development Authority, the Town of Webb Board passed a resolution in support of the Central Adirondack Partnership for the 21st Century (CAP-21) submitting an application on the town’s behalf.
Because McCauley provides thousands of residents and visitors with recreational and economic opportunities, employment, and community activities and events, it was the Board’s belief that these programs would be of assistance to the mountain.
Additionally, they cited the need for significant upgrades to the Ski Chalet as well as the snow making equipment to make them more energy efficient, thereby increasing the long-term profitability and sustainability of McCauley.
In the FlexTech Program the town would receive a cost-shared analysis of energy efficiency, technical evaluations, improvement analyses, as well as energy master plans.
The program would also help with retro commissioning and the development of peak-load curtailment plans of existing facilities.
The town would also receive combined heat and power feasibility studies for implementation in McCauley’s facilities.
NYSERDA’s Existing Facilities Program will offer the town a broad portfolio of incentives to help offset the costs of implementing energy efficiency improvements.