The sign yesterday in the Beach Road ticket booth window read “Sold Out,” and a line to board the Lake George Steamboat Company’s Lac du Saint Sacrement began to form nearly an hour before embarkation time. More than 400 tickets were sold for the Youth Fundraiser Cruise, a benefit for Nico’s House and the Lake George Teen Center. The dinner cruise was one event in a series of special activities hosted by the Steamboat Company this year to celebrate their 200th season in business.
The two-hour cruise left the Steel Pier at 4 p.m. under sunny skies with summer-like temperatures luring passengers to the upper deck to view the fall foliage along the lake’s shoreline and surrounding mountains. The Lake George Steamboat Company crew served a pasta buffet dinner with a wide variety of hors d’oeuvres and dessert tables laden with decadent cakes, pies and brownies.
DJ Chas Giknis of Absolute Sound provided the entertainment, and he kept the dance floor filled. A portion of the lower deck was given over to a silent auction of goods donated by local businesses, proceeds to benefit the designated charities. A fifty/fifty raffle raised an additional $325 for Nico’s House.
Nico’s House was founded to honor the memory of Lake George Class of 2013 graduate Nico Scroggy, who died in 2015 after a three-year struggle with addiction. Nico’s House offers resources, support and educational programs and advocates for legislation that would require protocols for addiction treatment similar to those for other diseases.
The Lake George Teen Center, housed at the Senior Center on Schuyler Street, opened last year. The center offers Lake George teens a safe place to gather after school. The Teen Center currently operates with a staff of volunteers. Organizers hope to hire a part-time director and expand the center’s hours.