The Lake Placid Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism will host a Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games public information session on Thursday, January 5 at 5:30 p.m. at the North Elba Town Hall. Area residents and business owners are encouraged to attend. Presenters include officials from Adirondack Sports Council along with the NYS Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA), community event planners and the Lake Placid Police Department. Information about local and regional businesses, community impact, and visitor engagement during the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games will be discussed. Topics will include village and business-related information, venue information, volunteer opportunities, updated and finalized schedules, traffic impacts, and local celebration venues and activities. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions about the games and related events. The Lake Placid 2023 FISU Games are expected to bring more than 2,100 collegiate athletes and delegates from 43 nations and 595 universities to Lake Placid and the surrounding region to compete in 12 sports and 86 events. The Lake Placid region will play host to Alpine skiing at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington and curling in Saranac Lake. ORDA will host events at its Olympic venues in Lake Placid including the opening and closing ceremonies, biathlon, cross-country skiing, Nordic combined, ski jumping, figure skating, speed skating, short track speed skating and the medal rounds for ice hockey. Lake Placid’s Main Street will be the center of activity, with nightly events, live music and medal award ceremonies. The international, multi-sport event takes place within multiple communities throughout the Adirondacks, including Lake Placid, Saranac Lake, Wilmington, Canton, Potsdam and North Creek, from January 12-22, 2023. Information about the Lake Placid 2023 FISU World University Games can be found at LakePlacid.com/2023. The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is the destination marketing and management organization for Hamilton and Essex counties, including the communities of Lake Placid, Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, all located within the Adirondacks in New York state. Contact: Jane Hooper, communications managerRegional Office Of Sustainable Tourism518.578.6328 (cell) 518.621.3662 (office)jane@roostadk.com

FIS Ski Jumping World Cup comes to Lake Placid with strong ticket sales What: FIS Ski Jumping World Cup When: Feb 10 - 12, 2023 Where: Olympic Jumping Complex More info: https://lakeplacidlegacysites.com/todo/fis-ski-jumping-world-cup/ World Cup Ski Jumping is back, and as of January 23, over 5,000 tickets have already been sold for both Saturday and Sunday! With the newly renovated venues, ORDA is able to welcome the World Cup back to Lake Placid for the first time in 32 years! The event will consist of Men’s Ski Jumping on the HS 128-meter ski jump with athletes from around the world, including Poland, Slovenia, Norway, Austria, Germany, and more. There will be a break in the competition from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. This is also the last weekend of the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival. It is shaping up to be a busy weekend!

Akwesasne Travel, The Wild Center and the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) have partnered to offer a series of three information sessions for local businesses and organizations that focus on tourism within the region. The North Country Travel Trade Activation is a series of free workshops that will share information designed to increase international and group travel business. The workshops will provide strategies to work with travel trade - organizations that sell tour packages and make itineraries for groups and individuals. These 2-hour virtual sessions take place on February 9, March 2 and March 22, beginning at 10:30am. Businesses can register for the sessions on the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism website. Presented by Alon Tourism Solutions, the workshops will assist participants by providing specific strategies and resources to grow business through building relationships with long-term business partners and enhancing marketing efforts with business-to-business resellers of travel (referred to as “travel trade”), including online travel agents, tour operators, wholesalers, and travel agents. Partnering with these resellers allows local travel-oriented businesses to share travel packages with national and international travelers. ALON Tourism Solutions has partnered with New York State Tourism for more than 20 years, providing seminars, workshops and comprehensive training that equips destinations, venues and small businesses with the information and skills required to successfully work with the travel trade. The workshops provided by Alon encourage businesses to develop a strong, local tourism network - one that helps local businesses develop partnerships to attract visitors to the local area; all designed to advance economic development in the region. According to Nick Gunn, marketing director at The Wild Center in Tupper Lake, the workshops will offer a great deal of information for local businesses, encouraging them to view other tourism-based organizations as partners that can help position an entire community as a wonderful destination. "Our backyard has so much to offer the travel trade business,” he said. “We're excited to be partnering with ROOST, Akwesasne Travel and Alon Tourism Solutions to shine a light on the opportunities we have to show travelers all over the world the special experiences our neck of the woods offers." The virtual information sessions for Adirondack region businesses, hosted in February and March, will include information about how to establish pricing, developing a summary of products and services, developing itineraries for travelers and establishing partnerships and packages with other local and regional venues. Each session will focus on a different aspect of developing a travel trade program. The first session focuses on program basics including how to develop a travel trade strategy, working with travel trade organizations to increase domestic and international travel packages and developing the processes required to sustain the program. Subsequent workshops will focus on building a strategy for travel-trade interaction, learning about requirements of package resellers, and developing a pricing structure that positions the venue to attract the desired markets and travelers. It will culminate with an opportunity to work directly with key travel trade operators, sharing information about packages that have been developed as a result of the workshop training. The travel trade activation training is supported by a grant awarded to New York State Travel Industry Association (NYSTIA) by New York State's Empire State Development and the I LOVE NY Division of Tourism under Governor Kathy Hochul's Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is the destination marketing and management organization for Hamilton and Essex counties, along with the communities of Lake Placid, Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, all located within the Adirondacks in New York state. Contact:Jane Hooper, communications managerRegional Office of Sustainable Tourism518-621-3662518-578-6328 (cell)jane@auroraroostadk.com

Taryn Delanie Smith, Miss New York 2022, visited the Lake Placid region last week in support of her work with the Miss America Organization. As Miss New York, Ms. Smith works with the New York By Rail Organization to promote train travel throughout New York state. According to Communications Manager Jane Hooper, the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism (ROOST) contacted Miss New York last October and suggested a visit to the Adirondack region. During late December and early January, trip details were finalized and an itinerary developed. During her time in the area, Ms. Smith rode the gondola to the top of Whiteface Mountain, she visited businesses along Lake Placid’s Main Street, experienced a snowshoe adventure at Henry’s Woods, visited John Brown Farm, toured the Olympic Museum, visited the Herb Brooks Arena in the Olympic Center, and spoke with a number of local residents, business owners, tourism industry personnel and regional tourism officials. Throughout her visit, Ms. Smith captured a great deal of video and many photographs of her time spent at the various venues, visiting area businesses and during her time outdoors. These photos, videos and her personal accounts of the experience will be shared on the Miss New York Instagram page and on the New York By Rail social media accounts. Additionally, she will summarize her experiences in a blog written for NY By Rail that will be shared in a weekly newsletter, along with the video highlighting her experiences. As a social media content creator, Ms. Smith’s proficiency with various social media platforms has increased the Miss America NY Instagram account substantially, doubling the number of followers in her first 6 months in the role. She has used her expertise to share her experiences as Miss New York, along with her statewide travels and appearances, with a wide audience. This particular trip highlights the ease in which people can take the train to the Albany area and access the Adirondack region by car; allowing potential Adirondack travelers to learn more about the region. Hooper explained that ROOST often works with various media professionals to help promote all that the Adirondack region has to offer. “ROOST undertakes a media relations strategy as part of its overall marketing effort,” she said. “We work with travel writers, editors, and social media content creators to encourage story development about the Adirondack region; ultimately sharing information about travel to, and within, the area. Writers and social media content professionals present the Adirondacks to their audiences which adds to the overall understanding of the Adirondacks - these writers and social media personalities tell the ‘story’ of the region through words, photos and video. The stories are also reinforced through ROOST’s advertising campaigns, encouraging potential visitors to begin planning their own Adirondack adventure.” Miss New York’s adventures in Lake Placid and throughout the state can be seen on Instagram @missamericany and @newyorkbyrail. The Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism is the destination marketing and management organization for Hamilton and Essex counties, including the communities of Lake Placid, Tupper Lake and Saranac Lake, all located within the Adirondacks in New York state. About Miss New York 2022 Taryn Delanie Smith is a passionate communications and media creative with a strong educational background in media studies and international relations. As a bilingual 25-year-old, she has scholastic expertise and hands-on experience with digital communities, inter-cultural relations, and diplomacy. Taryn is an honors graduate who holds both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degree from St. John's University. She is a freelance content creator and consultant for numerous national and international brands. Taryn was the first runner-up at the Miss America pageant, held in December 2022. About New York By RailNew York By Rail is an annual magazine produced along with NewYorkByRail.com, a web version of the magazine, under a publishing agreement between Amtrak and Martinelli Custom Publishing that promotes Amtrak train travel, primarily in New York, and features information on Amtrak trains, routes, services and destinations and attractions. New York By Rail has an agreement with the Miss New York Organization for Miss New York to visit destinations via Amtrak and promote her experiences through a blog, video and social media. Contact:Jane Hooper, communications managerRegional Office of Sustainable Tourism518-621-3662518-578-6328 (cell)jane@roostadk.com

The Town of Tupper Lake is hosting its annual BrewSki event on Saturday, February 25 from 12-4 p.m. at the Tupper Lake Golf Course. BrewSki features 17 local and regional breweries that offer samples and the opportunity to learn about regionally produced beers and the breweries that produce them; while skiing, snowshoeing and riding along the trails. Event organizers also arrange fire pits at which to rest along the trail and fat tire bike rental from High Peaks Cyclery. The event culminates with an after party at Raquette River Brewing featuring live music with Mickey and Claire. Tickets for the event are $25 each and includes admission to the event, drink samples, a commemorative mug along with a lanyard to help carry the mug as participants travel along the route. Tickets for the event can be purchased at TupperLake.com/events/brewski. Participants under 21 years of age or those who do not wish to sample products from the breweries can take part free of charge. There will be a welcome tent at the event to ensure that all participants are registered. BrewSki participants can ski, walk, fat tire bike or snowshoe along the 1.5-mile loop that weaves in and out of the woods and along the James C. Frenette Sr. Recreational Trail adjacent to the golf course. While moving along the trail, participants have the opportunity to visit brewery sample stations hosted by a number of local and regional breweries. The breweries will offer product samples, information about the products, fire pits and music so that participants can mingle and relax. According to Laura LaBarge, recreation and youth activities director for the Town of Tupper Lake, the BrewSki is one of the area’s most popular events. “In our area, so many people really embrace winter and BrewSki is one event that people really look forward to each year,“ she said. “Physical activity, the opportunity to socialize, a chance to play in the snow while sampling some local beers, all combine to provide a solid cure for our collective cabin fever.” The one-of-a-kind, and dog-friendly event typically attracts more than 1,000 participants each year. “We have a limit on the number of tickets, so I really encourage people to register as soon as possible. The event takes place, rain or shine, snow or mud,” she laughed. “It’s a great event, no matter the weather. This year, we are excited to have some snow, and with the upcoming cold weather, I am hopeful that it will last.” The Tupper Lake Central School Class of 2023 will be selling hot cocoa, tacos, popcorn, s’mores kits and dog treats at the main fire pit, located approximately halfway along the route. Snacks are available on a cash-only basis. Breweries taking part in this year’s BrewSki include: Raquette River Brewing (Tupper Lake) Maple Brewing (Akwesasne) Livingoods (Peru, NY) Big Slide Brewery (Lake Placid, NY) Lake Placid Pub & Brewery (Lake Placid, NY) Hex & Hop Brewing (Bloomingdale, NY) Woodboat (Clayton, NY) Oval Craft Brewing (Plattsburgh, NY) Woodland Farm (Utica, NY) Boots Brewing Company (Watertown) Gristmill Brewery (Massena, NY) Ray Brook Brewhouse (Ray Brook, NY) Valcour Brewing (Plattsburgh, NY) Northway Brewing Co. (Queensbury, NY) Paradox Brewery (North Hudson, NY) 1812 Brewing Co (Sackets Harbor, NY) Nine Pin Cider Works (Albany, NY) The event raises money for the volunteer-groomed ski trail system. BrewSki is the second winter-themed event taking place in Tupper Lake this February. The Lumberjack Scramble, hosted by the Town of Tupper Lake will take place on February 11 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. The cross-country ski event welcomes skiers ages 6-14 who wish to compete in distances ranging from .8 km to 4 km. Proceeds will benefit the youth ski program. Refreshments and lunch will be provided. More information can be found at tupperlake.com/events. Contact:Sydney Aveson, communications coordinatorRegional Office of Sustainable Tourism518-831-5375626-533-5008 (cell)sydney@roostadk.com