LOCALadk Magazine

Winter 2019 LOCALadk Magazine 63 LOCALadk During our weekend we met people of all ages from all parts of the countr y. While many of them were also summer residents of Bolton, Lake George, and other nearby Adiron- dack villages and towns, for many others it was their first time visiting the "other great lake," and they were loving it. One group of women from Long Island, Connecticut, and New Jersey, has been coming to the ice bar at the Sagamore since it first began in 2014. Since then, Lake George and Bolton have become their annual girls weekend destination. They divide their time between skiing, snowshoeing, and hik- ing, with forays to all the local ice bar events, including the Lake George Beach Club, the Funky Ice Fest at the Adiron- dack Pub and Brewer y, the Holiday Inn, Erlowest Ice Fest, and other venues. Tom Wysocki, director of sales and marketing at the Fort William Henr y Hotel, is expecting a full house at this year's ice bar. This is the fourth year the hotel will host an ice-themed event, to coincide with the annual winter carnival. The plans for 2020 include an expanded ice bar and other sculptures, with four to five igloos situated around the property over- looking the lake. In addition to being a cool artistic addition, the igloos will also ser ve as seating areas for guests looking to relax, socialize, and enjoy some chilled beverages in the comfort of their own frozen hut. Guests can reser ve an igloo for up to an hour, ensuring that as many guests as possible will be able to experience the icy lounges during their stay. It isn't just the hotels and bars that benefit from the yearly ice festivals. Most people who come for the ice bars reser ve hotel rooms to avoid imbibing and driving home. At last year's festivities, I met a group from Ravena, N.Y., who have made the winter carnival and ice bars an annual tradition— and spend money on speciality gifts during their stay. " We stay at the Fort William Henr y and do the rounds of all the ice bars and parties between here and Bolton Landing," they told me. "It's a great getaway and a lot of fun, and it's only about an hour away. We feel like we're on a mini-vaca- tion, and we spend money at local distilleries, breweries, and clothing and specialty stores. I struck up a conversation with another family from South Carolina who own a second home in Bolton. " We love being able to come here for all the seasons," explained one family member. They had just come back from a morning hike along one of the many trails located throughout the region, and were looking for ward to a massage followed by a great din- ner and a night out making the rounds and taking in the spec- tacular sculptures. For America's first vacation destination, it seems only fit- ting that ice bars, artistic sculptures, and interactive "per- formance art" designs have become a familiar feature of the Adirondack landscape that contribute to the success of the region regardless of the weather.

• Cover