A Big Day For A Little New York Town

Santa and Mrs. Claus at the strand.

We offer a huge congrats to the organizers of Schroon’s 30th Annual Old Tyme Christmas celebration, which had Main Street hopping  all day Saturday and into the evening.

The event, which featured multiple activities for the entire family, went off smoothly, thanks to the tireless efforts of several folks, led  by chair woman Wendy Ryan and the Executive Director of the Schroon Chamber of Commerce, Tammy Whitty-Brown.

“We had a great team of volunteers who helped pull this together, it was a big group effort,” Wendy told Schroon Laker.

Mother Nature also played a hand, dishing out balmy, Spring like weather. Stores and restaurants were buzzing all day. Visitors and locals alike could easily find their way to the many events, thanks to some top-notch signage.

One of the highlights was the bake sale featuring seven yummy treats, thanks to volunteer bakers who used the kitchen ofthe Northwoods Bread company.

Funds raised will help the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce in promoting Schroon as an all year round tourist destination.

And several hundred dollars were raised at the annual basket and gift raffle at the Chamber, to help kids whose families have fallen on hard times.

There were lines out the door at The Strand Theatre asfamilies waited patiently to see the big guy in red. This year was the first time that Mrs. Claus was on stage with her man.

And the good weather helped bring out about 150 folks for the tree lighting.

Giant Studio Gallery owner Anthony Ruiz said the event was a great way to bring out folks to Main Street.

Dave Insall playing at the Towne Store.

“We’ve had a steady stream in here all day. It’s nice for people to pop in and say hi,” Anthony said. 

Further south on Route 9, Sticks and Stones also noticed a bump in business. “It’s been a busy  day and night for us,” co-owner Gary Tromblee told us.

“When I was downtown earlier, you could really feel a buzz, people were out and having fun.”

What were your favorite memories of the day? Tell us in comments.

Local Author Will Get You Going!

Do you feel like  you are often stuck in second gear, never getting enough juice to speed ahead? Then local author Sharon Burstein’s new book, Life Snacks, just may be the pick me up you need.  Sharon will be selling and signing her book today (December 13) from 1pm until 3pm at the Adirondack General Store.

From the publisher:

Your mind like your stomach needs to be fed to help you be your best! Life Snacks, soothing, satisfying and simple is food for the mind. Each 50 inspirational motivational bite and message is filled with delicious morsels that ignite the spirit, are motivating and uplifting. Intentionally short, to inspire quick Ah-ha moments and easy to digest, Life Snacks - is a tasty treat for adults and children of all ages.

Sunday also marks the second day of Horicon’s "Shop Outside the Box event", sponsored by the North Warren Chamber of Commerce. There are sales and deals galore from the Lazy Moose, Crossroads, Rustic Charm, Main Street Ice Cream, Filler-Up, and The Art in Chestertown Gallery.

Main Street Schroon: Your Christmas HQ!

The Timberwolf's gets into the spirit! 

Head on down to Schroon right now for the town's 30th Annual Old Tyme Christmas Celebration!

A delicious bake sale to benefit the Chamber is being hosted by the Northwoods Bread Company. And those treats are mouthwatering.

And the annual holiday basket raffle at the Chamber office there's 27 gift baskets, experiences and items up for grabs! All proceeds benefit local kids whose families have fallen on tough times. 

Check out the full program above! 

More of The Christmas Spirit: North Country Naturals

Marlene Powers: Schroon Laker Collection. All Rights Reserved.

Marlene Powers knows a thing or three about the holidays. For more than three decades her Christmas theme and Fall creations have decorated hundreds of homes and businesses throughout the North Country. And for the last two weeks she's been working around the clock at her her headquarters on Alder Meadow Road getting ready for the wreath and Kissing Ball season.

So just how did Marlene get into the business? “It was just something that I always played with.,  I'm an artsy type person,” Marlene told Schroon laker.com.

"We're going to have some floral arrangements. We will have silk, we will have artificial decorations, cone decorations, the greenery, that includes kissing balls, swags, candy canes, crosses, and literally anything anybody comes in with and says, 'Can you fix this for me.?,  can you make this ho, ho, ho?', and we do our best.

“We're not a florist, so some people think because of all the other things that I do for the embellishments I am, but I'm not there yet. There's a chance that someday I will be, but at this point we're working on getting this store stocked before becoming an actual year-round shop”

Marlene has a great selection of  winter greens with “holiday things, fall things, cones, just different decorations that I do. Actually, when I started out doing this business, it was Gifts from Nature ,and it was primarily cones and then I did the greenery on the side, and then of course I was also growing herbs and things.

“It's seasonal so right now I'm going to stay with  the greenery, the cone stuff backs it up but that I work on all year round”

Marlene can ship her goods anywhere, and many of her customers carry her works of art with them as gifts.

“I've had kissing balls picked up before Thanksgiving that ended up in Rhode Island, all over New York State. I have actually, this is so ironic, sent 20-some-odd wreaths one year to Oregon” Marlene says a lot of her sales locally come from word of mouth with her creations ending up in Chestertown, North Creek, “pretty much the entire Tri-Lakes area”.

Where does Marlene source her greens from?. 

“We go up into property of the families, in North Hudson, then I've got friends up in Minerva, and then I do pay certain people that have wood lots and then they just trim it, they don't take the trees, and then it grows back. Wreaths or kissing balls? What’s  your most popular item?

"Kissing balls are unique, so I will have to say they're the most popular item. You can pretty much get wreaths anywhere, and mine are not stuck in Styrofoam like some of them”

Marlene prides herself on being able to come up with any creation a customer wants, with any combination of greens and naturals.

“A lot of times, you can use white pine, cedar if it's an agreeable branch because it's so gnarly. Like I said, it depends on the product, the size of the product, and how flamboyant they want to be”. 

214 Alder Meadow Road, Schroon Lake. (518) 681-0340