SARANAC LAKE – Members of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee are seeking volunteers to help them plan and facilitate the next 10-day festival, set for February 5-14, 2016.
There are many areas that people can help either in the planning before or during the carnival. Volunteers are encouraged to attend the next Committee meeting, to be held at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, September 15 at the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at 193 River Street.
“Winter Carnival is only possible through the help of volunteers,” said Eric Foster, chairman of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee. “We welcome new people to join the existing Committee members so we can continue to improve this long-standing community event.”
Volunteering on the Winter Carnival Committee is a fun way to support the community, and an opportunity to meet people from around the community.
As part of its fundraising efforts for the upcoming carnival, the Committee will have a raffle drawing on December 6 which will award two winners. The first prize winner receives two Winter Carnival VIP passes which include standing with carnival royalty for the opening fireworks display, watching the gala parade from the judges’ stand, and preferred seating at the royalty coronation ceremony and the rotary show. The second prize winner receives a Winter Carnival gift basket with logo merchandise including a flag, baseball hat, fleece hat, long sleeve shirt, patch, pin and stickers.
Raffle tickets are $5 each or 3 tickets for $10 and can be purchased at Rice Furniture at 43 Main Street, the Saranac Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at 193 River Street and will be sold during the Sparkle Village Arts & Crafts Fair at Harrietstown Town Hall on December 4-5. Entrants for the raffle drawing must be over 18 years old.
Visitors from around the world will travel to this village to celebrate the annual Saranac Lake Winter Carnival featuring a “Superheroes and Villains” theme for 2016. Named the second best winter carnival in the world by National Geographic Traveler magazine, this Carnival is the longest-running event of its kind in the eastern U.S. Dating to 1897, the Carnival began as a one-day event to break the monotony of the long Adirondack winter and has grown into a 10-day festival that includes sports, performances, two parades and three sets of spectacular fireworks.
The Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Committee, formally known as the Society for Promotion of Winter Carnival, Saranac Lake, Inc., is a group of volunteers dedicated to organizing an annual mid-winter festival. This 10-day, communitywide event traces its roots to a one-day Winter Carnival held in 1897 by the Pontiac Club. The Carnival honors its heritage every year by building an Ice Palace from blocks of ice harvested from Lake Flower’s Pontiac Bay, where carnival events have been traditionally held for generations. For more information, visit the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival website at www.saranaclakewintercarnival.com. The 2016 Winter Carnival will take place February 5–14.
