Schenectady County Winter Carnival adds venue, events Tuesday, February 19, 2008
With a second venue and more activities, county and city officials are hoping to double attendance at Saturday’s second-annual Winter Carnival. Last year’s event drew 1,500 when it was held at Maple Ski Ridge, said county spokeswoman Theresa Cassiack. This year, the event will take place at Maple Ski Ridge in Rotterdam and in Schenectady's Central Park, she said. “We’re partnering with the city, so it would be more accessible to all the people in Schenectady County,” Cassiack said. Susan Savage, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature, said the carnival is “a continuation of our year-round efforts to provide a wide array of opportunities for residents to enjoy recreational activities that Schenectady County has to offer.” The Winter Carnival, which is free, runs from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at both venues.p> Some of the new activities added to this year’s carnival are tube races, snow sculpturing, winter softball, snow cricket and ice bike racing, all to be held in Central Park. Also new this year is a chili challenge, which will involve local restaurants, Cassiack said. Live music is scheduled to be performed at Maple Ski Ridge by the Mariaville Cattle Company. Radio Disney Live! is also scheduled to broadcast from inside the lodge at the ski area. Cassiack said the U.S. Water Ski Show Team will perform an on-land demonstration at Maple Ski Ridge and there will be special appearances by Southpaw and Pappy Southpaw, mascots for the Tri-City Valley Cats minor league baseball team. Cassiack said another new activity is a treasure hunt sponsored by the NY Capital Region Geocachers. Participants in a treasure hunt will use a global positioning satellite receiver to find containers called “geocaches.”
EDITORIALS Live from Central Park, it’s Schenectady’s new winter carnival
Carl Olsen, Schenectady’s commissioner of general services, sounded tired yesterday evening as he dealt with a burst pipe, a snowstorm and a shortage of salt. But he was excited about the winter festival, the city’s first in many years, that will be held at Central Park today and that he is primarily responsible for — both in the conception and the organization. We are also excited. We’ve long thought a winter carnival was a good idea — in fact have repeatedly urged the city to hold one — and think this is the perfect time for one. Perfect not only because of yesterday’s snowstorm, which will provide a few more inches of the white stuff for activities and make everything fresh, clean and pretty. Perfect not only because of today’s not-too-warm, not-too-cold temperature — in the low 30s. But also because Schenectady residents, in the middle of winter and with the kids just finishing a week off from school, are ready to get out, have some fun and do a little celebrating. One thing worth celebrating is the rebirth of their downtown, which, as last week’s Siena/Metroplex survey showed, most of them are aware of and feel good about. This event is going to have all the traditional stuff winter carnival stuff, including sledding and skating (Olsen has put together a new, organized, indoor/outdoor skating program this winter, with 50 pairs of skates for kids who don’t have any). But that’s only a small part of it. There will also be tube racing, snowboarding and cross-country skiing (with equipment provided by Plaine and Sons), an ice bike race, hockey demonstrations by Schenectady Youth Hockey, snow cricket, softball and ice fishing instruction. And live music. And free hot chocolate, compliments of Price Chopper. And a chili cookoff at the Casino, with nine city chefs vying for the title of Schenectady’s best chili. A big turnout would be nice to see. It could help ensure that this will be an annual event, and also give a boost to Olsen’s ice skating program. Festivities will start at 11 a.m. and go to 4 p.m. (The county will also have its own festival today at Maple Ski Ridge.) Get out and enjoy.
Out for a spin SCHENECTADY Ice racers speed, skid to victory at winter carnival
BY TATIANA ZARNOWSKI Gazette Reporter
Pedaling a mountain bike around hairpin turns on a frozen lake seemed like a good idea Saturday, but today, those participants who took a spill on the ice are likely feeling a little stiff. Bill McCormack of Clifton Park fell while practicing on the course before the ice race at Iroquois Lake in Central Park, but he soldiered on come race time. “I’ll know tomorrow,” he said when asked if he hurt himself. McCormack and his 14-year-old son, Dan, finished the course with regular mountain bike tires, but others used special studded tires designed for winter use. “We thought we’d try it for the fun of it,” McCormack said. Paul Chowansky came from Sea Girt, N.J., just to compete in the bike race and to blow off some steam after several long work weeks doing a construction project. “Everybody in my church was like, ‘You’re going up WHERE this weekend?’ ” he said. The three celebrated respectable finishes but nowhere near that of Mark Graber of Saratoga Springs, who pulled off a win at the race after competing with two other serious racers at the head of the pack. There aren’t many winter races in the Northeast, Graber noted. “This brings the cycling community together in an area that’s colder than heck,” Graber said. “It’s not a lot of fun to ride by yourself all winter.” ONLY PART OF THE FUN The ice race was part of the fi rst Schenectady Winter Carnival, a festival with all forms of activities in Central Park, including softball and broomball plus a chili cookoff, musical entertainment and food. Children and adults ice skated on Iroquois Lake and sledded and snow tubed on the park’s hills. Skiing and snowshoeing were permitted, too, but participants in those activities were few on Saturday. Several hundred people attended the event, which started with an idea to bring children together for some winter softball. “When I was a kid, we used to play softball here in the winter,” recalled Mike Burke, city recreation director. “I wanted to have softball and some hot chocolate.” So the city partnered with the city schools’ PTO Council, and volunteers swarmed in. “We just called all our friends and said, ‘Let’s do this,’ ” Burke said. The event offered a rare chance for people to get together outside in Schenectady for an organized activity and banish cabin fever. “You’re stuck inside a lot. You’ve got to have winter activities,” said Wendy Baird of Charlton. Baird usually brings her Vermont grandchildren to New York in Bloom at the New York State Museum this weekend, the beginning of their February school vacation. But this year, she toted the youngsters to Central Park, where Max, 11, went snow tubing with his grandfather and Markus, 7, skated. Burke was happy with Saturday’s weather. “We asked for snow,” Burke said. “We got a little bit of snow to make it beautiful.” In Rotterdam, the county sponsored an affiliated Winter Carnival at Maple Ski Ridge. Heather Mason, manager of Plaine and Son in Schenectady, organized the ice race. Ice races are popular in Canada, where contestants see how many laps they can pedal around a course before the clock runs out, she explained. Racers had to make the sharp turns by sliding into them, sometimes using their feet to stop and turn, rather than steering the usual way. The studded bike tires that some people bought for the race can be used all winter on trails, she said.
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