Tweet this: more than 90 bird watchers migrated to Hamilton County from June 10-12 for the 12th annual Adirondack Birding Festival! The three-day Adirondack Birding Festival features birding hikes, walks, safaris, outings, and seminars throughout Hamilton County.This year, 30 more registrants participated in greater numbers in the variety of expert-led outdoor trips than in 2015. Hamilton County contains more than one million acres of the Adirondacks. With more than 60 percent of those acres classified as either wilderness or wild forest, it is one of the best locations to watch boreal birds. Now in its 12th year, the Hamilton County Birding Festival brings together bird watchers from all over the United States to explore and discover the amazing birds of the Adirondacks. MORE INFO

The 2016 Summer Fest in Malone, presented by the Malone Chamber of Commerce, was held on Saturday, June 11th to benefit the Capital Campaign for the Malone Civic Center. The event included live music, beer and wine tastings, auction and food, and the popular Mayor's Poutine Challenge. The Malone Civic Center, located at the end of State Street in Malone, is used by multiple organizations throughout the year. As an ice rink, more than 500 athletes participate in Malone Minor Hockey, the Malone Figure Skating Club, Malone Men’s Hockey, and Franklin Academy Boys and Girls Hockey. Additionally, over 1000 people have enjoyed open skate this season. In the off-season, the Civic Center is also used for various community events. The Capital Campaign is raising funds to renovate the arena into a more modern and safe environment; new boards, glass, and safety netting will be installed to ensure a safe and fun environment for everyone who uses the Malone Civic Center. The Mayor's Poutine Challenge Nice job if you can get it! Judges for the Mayor's Poutine Challenge: (L – R) Rick LeVitre, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Mayor Joe Riccio, Village of Malone, DJ Canon, Mayor DJ with Martz Communications and Chris Cordes with Cordes Software. 2016 Malone Chamber of Commerce Summer Fest Poutine Contest Winner was Mo's Pub & Grill. (L - R) Sharon Tucker, Manager, Casey Degon, Malone Chamber of Commerce, and Chef Marc Senechal - Congratulations!

Beth Hill came to the Adirondacks in 2010 to take over as president and CEO of Fort Ticonderoga, and a year later, she joined the ROOST board. She’s been serving on the board ever since then. Beth was born on Long Island and has lived in small communities and big cities all over the world. She has national and international work experience, and she’s been in the museum profession for about 24 years. She has also owned her own business. The Adirondacks, Beth says, are unique from the other places she’s lived in that we have a combination of important assets that other regions would die for: The Adirondacks have so much natural beauty, partnered with a strong, important story to tell. Fort Ticonderoga Beth gets to help tell that story every day through her work at Fort Ticonderoga. People often think of the history of the Adirondacks as that of the High Peaks and central woods regions, which didn’t get penetrated by residents and travelers much until the 1800s. The Lake Champlain Region, though, is an important part of the Adirondacks, and it played a significant role throughout America’s history with strategic military actions taking place at Fort Ticonderoga and other places along the shores of Lake Champlain. The freedoms we have today were defined in part at Fort Ticonderoga, Beth says. Beth and the rest of her staff are looking forward to a busy season at the Fort. They’ve already seen strong numbers since their opening in May, and as they continue to expand their experiences and audience, the Fort has seen growing attendance regularly since 2011. Over the past few years, they have added experiences in the gardens around the Fort, on nearby Mount Defiance, and with popular boat tours on Lake Champlain, making it possible for visitors to spend a whole day, or even multiple days, exploring the Fort’s offerings. Each year, Fort Ticonderoga focuses on a different year in the Fort’s history, and this year will feature 1777, when it was a major supply depot. For more info about what’s new this season at the Fort, click here. ROOST board It didn’t take Beth long after moving here to join the ROOST board, and she’s been serving on it ever since. She’s an energetic voice representing the Lake Champlain Region, recognizing the role that tourism plays both in economic development but also in maintaining and improving the quality of life we enjoy in the Adirondacks. And as the head of one of the major destination attractions in the region, it’s useful to the rest of the board and to ROOST’s staff to have her input and ideas incorporated into the fold. She’s been pleased to see ROOST building regional partnerships and collaborations, which she notes is a goal aligned with the philosophy of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Regional Economic Development Councils. In the future, she hopes to see ROOST continue to attract more travelers into the region and help them spend more while enjoying themselves here, as is the goal of any destination marketing organization. She sees that happening both through ROOST’s marketing efforts and also its work in destination development — building experiences and tourism infrastructure in each of our regions so there are enough amenities and experiences to meet demands of the market.

Again this year, Ironman would like to offer each athlete a $25 gift certificate to use at participating area restaurants. • The restaurant gift certificate is valid July 21-25, 2016. • The balance over $25 is the responsibility of the customer. • The $25 gift certificate can be applied to tax. • There is no balance or cash back on any purchase less than $25. • All gift certificates will be submitted, by participating restaurants, to the ROOST office no later than July 29, 2016 for reimbursement. Click here to download the participation form: Ironman Dine Around Application. Return it to Bethany no later than Monday, June 27, 2016 at bethany@roostadk.com.

BBQ, booking, Beth, and business after hours - so much to find out in this week's ROOST news! http://bit.ly/1OsyI1K