What caught our eye - 6/1/19

June 1, 2019

 

AdkWineFoodFestPhoto.jpgIn five years, the Adirondack Wine and Food Festival has become one of summer’s
most savory signature events. (Photo courtesy of the 
Adirondack Winery)

DINE WITH THE QUEEN: Welcome the summer with some of the best food and wine on the shores of the most beautiful lake in the world. The Adirondack Wine and Food Festival at Lake George, bigger and tastier than ever, this year will feature 33 wineries, 15 distilleries, 12 food trucks, seven breweries, seven cideries, a meadery, 28 artisan food vendors and 19 craft and specialty vendors. Plus, celebrity Chef William Cornelius of the Finger Lakes and Chef Colin Miner, executive chef at Park 26 at The Queensbury Hotel in Glens Falls, will compete in an Iron Chef-like competition. http://bit.ly/AdkWineFoodFest

FIELD OF DREAMS REALIZED: After more than a decade of hard work on the part of local governments, environmental organizations and inspiring philanthropists, Charles R. Wood Park in Lake George Village had its official grand opening this week. Where once stood an amusement park and related facilities now lies an innovative multi-use park, with concert and event space on one side and an innovative man-made wetland on the other, keeping harmful nutrients and pollutants out of the lake beloved by generations. Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky of The FUND for Lake George proudly reports the project is exceeding expectations for environmental protection. http://bit.ly/FieldofLGDreams

VISITORS, WE THANK YOU: Twelve million people visit the Adirondacks each year – up 20 percent since 2011. In 2018, they spent $1.42 billion. Tourism is the third largest industry in New York State, responsible for nearly one in ten jobs and producing enough tax revenue to save each New York household about $1,100 a year in avoided taxes. EDC Warren County  recognized the immense benefits of tourism at its annual luncheon this week. Consider this: In 2018, nearly 1 million room nights were sold in Warren County. Six Flags Great Escape President Rebecca Wood pointed out that, in addition to generating economic activity and creating thousands of jobs, local tourism businesses provide hundreds of young people with their first-job experience.

MAKING THE POINT: The Point on Upper Saranac Lake has been named one of the ten most beautiful hotels in the world by Architectural Digest. On 75 acres, The Point is constructed with Adirondack wood, granite and stone and once was the homestead of William Avery Rockefeller II. Weekend getaway? Buy a Lottery ticket. http://bit.ly/MostBeautifulHotelPoint

ASPIRING TO THE ADIRONDACKS: Who needs tents and sleeping bags when — for a little more — you can have one of these backwoods bunkhouses?  http://bit.ly/AdkMansionsAvailable 

HEAR HOW LOSS LED TO GAIN: For those who may have struggled to hear the lyrics or the one-liners at the Charles R. Wood Theater in Glens Falls, a group of social entrepreneurs in the Weekend MBA program at SUNY Albany has come up with a solution. They are led by a local woman with a hearing impairment.  http://bit.ly/WoodTheaterHearingInnovation

UP TO THE CHALLENGE: Last night, players in the Saratoga Springs Little League Challenger Division had an opportunity to play under the lights and receive well-deserved recognition for their achievements. The Challenger Division offers children with special needs an opportunity to participate in the timeless All-American sport of baseball. Players received ceremonial jackets and free Stewart’s ice cream — but most importantly, played their hearts out in the spotlight. http://bit.ly/ChallengersUnderTheLights

BRILLIANT IDEA: Annmarie Lanesey, founder of the nonprofit Albany Can Code to teach computer coding to nontraditional students, has been honored as Capital Region Philanthropist of the Year. Albany Can Code’s goals are to remove economic and cultural barriers that keep people from working in technology and to increase the numbers of skilled employees available to tech companies. http://bit.ly/AlbanyCanCodePhilanthropy

A CHANGE IN THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE: Liz Benjamin, whose nightly news and public affairs program has been a must-watch for the Albany political establishment for nearly a decade, is leaving Spectrum News when the legislative session ends later this month, according to the Times Union. http://bit.ly/BenjaminEndsCapitalTonight

A WHOLE LOTTA LOVE FOR UPSTATE: Speaking of Spectrum News, kudos to Nick Reisman for asking his Twitter followers what they most liked about Upstate New York, an invitation he seeded with a request that commenters keep snide remarks to themselves. The answers prove that Twitter can, in fact, be uplifting.  http://bit.ly/TweetUpstateFavorites

MASS(IVE) SUCCESS: MASS MoCa, the contemporary, experimental art museum in North Adams, Mass., was born of a community disaster — the closing of the sprawling Sprague Electric Co. and the loss of 3,000 jobs. In 20 years, it has become an unparalleled cultural and community success, recognized now as a world-class museum, having survived near-bankruptcy and early bungling, and having been rescued by stubborn visionaries, including one small-town mayor who knew little about art but was willing to dive out of a plane to support the cause.  http://bit.ly/MassMoCaSuccess

Turtles.jpegImagine what those 15 turtles had to shell out to chill in this cool spot on Saratoga Lake?

THINGS NEEDN’T BE PERFECT TO BE WONDERFUL: ’Tis the season of advice-dispensing, as celebrities and politicians, military leaders and billionaires ascend the bedecked podia in every college town to impart received wisdom to graduates whose minds are elsewhere. We’ve collected some of the advice we found interesting.

CORNELL SON: Some of the graduation best advice came from Bill Nye, the “Globe is on Fire!” Science Guy, who returned to his alma mater to urge graduates to wear shoes, read labels, and save the planet by addressing climate change.  http://bit.ly/BillNyeCornellSpeech (Friends, please overlook the salty language in the “Globe is on Fire” video clip — the key part begins at 18:33)

IT’S HAPPENING HERE: The Adirondacks is warming twice as fast as much of the planet. We’re already seeing the change in shorter winters and bigger storms.  http://bit.ly/ClimateImpactAdks

IT'S AN HONOR: Former GlobalSpec and Forbes.com CEO Jeff Killeen, the chairman of the FUND for Lake George, joins the board of his alma mater, St. Lawrence University. And Capital Region insurance executive and Tech Valley Hall of Fame inductee John Murray, the CEO and Chairman of Rose and Kiernan, Inc., will chair the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Siena College.

SMOKIN’ HOT:  Queensbury native and Culinary Institute alum Justin Bartlett’s Dizzy Chicken Woodfired Rotisserie in Saratoga Springs and the Memphis King BBQ in Schenectady make the list of top ten barbecues in Upstate New York.  http://bit.ly/Top10UpsateBBQ

HE CALLED THEM QUARKS: Even if you understand as little theoretical physics as we do, you probably know the name of Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman. Even less well known but just as important was his collaborator Murray Gell-Mann whose “Eightfold Way” made sense of particle physics the way the Periodic Table organized the elements. He was the father of quarks.  http://bit.ly/TheFatherofQuarks

WALK (OR RIDE) THIS WAY: As railroads declined and rails fell into disrepair, Americans discovered the benefits of creating a national network of trails for walking and bicycling. In the last 30 years, rail trails have become one the leading recreational and historical assets of New York State, and notable among them are the Warren County Bikeway, the Zim Smith Trail in Saratoga County, the Mohawk-Hudson Bike-Hike Trail in Albany and Schenectady counties, the Uncle Sam Bikeway in Rensselaer County and the Walkway over the Hudson in Dutchess County.  http://bit.ly/TheGrowthofTrails

SUMMERTIME FUN:
LARAC (Lower Adirondack Regional Arts Council) June Arts Festival will be held in Glens Falls City Park on Saturday, June 15th and Sunday, June 16th.

Adirondack Theater Festival in Glens Falls opens for the season Friday, June 14 to Saturday, June 22nd with the romantic musical comedy “Calling All Kates”

Tri-City Valleycats baseball team opens its season at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium Sunday, June 16th

NEARLY FINAL WORDS

“People say if you love what you do every day, you never work a day in your life. I say, if you love why you do what you do, you never work a day in your life.”
- Rebecca Wood, President
Six Flags Great Escape Resort
Queensbury, N.Y.

THE SIGNOFF

MOM, THIS IS BIG: A Queensbury High School football player who has never left the United States has been invited to play football — American football — in Australia. http://bit.ly/QsbyPlayerHeadsDownUnder

PLEASE SHARE: Feel free to pass this along to your friends and colleagues.

THANK YOU to our content contributors John Brodt, Bill Callen, Lisa Fenwick, Colleen Potter, Tina Suhocki, Bill Richmond, Pat Gormley and Tara Hutchins.

FACING OUT: FACING OUT is what we do. We help companies, organizations and individuals work effectively with their most important external audiences – their customers, their shareholders, their communities, the government and the news media.  www.behancommunications.com

Facing Out features news and other nuggets that caught our eye, and that we thought might be of value to you, our friends and business associates. Some items are good news about our clients and friends, others are stories that we hope will leave you a bit more informed or entertained than you were five minutes ago. As always, we welcome your ideas and feedback. 

Let’s make it a conversationmark.behan@behancom.com

 

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