Thousands of people gathered in Lake George’s Shepard Park Saturday evening for the annual Lite up the Village celebration. The event kicked off at 3 p.m. with Susie Q. and Matt Donnelly taking the stage to entertain with dance music cumulating in a sing-along of holiday favorites. The Lake George Winter Carnival Committee handed out fixings for smores and people roasted their marshmallows over fire pits set up in the park.
A Crazy Sweater contest, with children and adult divisions, brought 40 contestants to the stage wearing an amusing assortment of outfits festooned with garlands, tinsel and blinking lights. At 6 p.m., Village of Lake George Mayor Ray Perry led the children in a countdown and the park was flooded with thousands of colorful holiday lights. Snowflakes encircling the streetlights and lights in Blais Park at the Visitors Center were also lit.
The light displays include soaring trees, starbursts and glowing flowers; arrangements designed by the Village Landscaping Department. Fireworks followed the lighting and, as the final bursts of pyrotechnics faded, the Lake George Volunteer Fire Department’s Parade of Lighted Fire Trucks began with sirens and horns blaring.
More than two dozen local fire companies, EMS squads, not-for-profit organizations and local businesses participated in the parade that stretched the length of Canada Street. Fire companies decorated their trucks with strings of lights and inflated characters and elves ran along Canada Street tossing candy to the hundreds of children on the sidewalks. A horse-drawn carriage carrying Santa and Mrs. Claus brought up the rear of the parade. Santa and Mrs. Claus were escorted to the Lake George Firehouse where children were invited to visit and make their gift requests.
The 2023 Lite up the Village celebration welcomed not only the holidays but also what local officials promised to be an exciting winter season on the shores of Lake George. Two new winter attractions, Lake George Winter’s Dream and Winter Realms, are offering winter-themed experiences that Sam Luciano, President of Fort William Henry calls “absolutely magical.”
Winter Realms, which opened this weekend at the Festival Commons in Wood Park, features thousands of colorful lights, a 60-foot illuminated tree, ice sculptures, a fairy village and a 60-by-90-foot ice skating rink. Lake George Winter’s Dream turns the Fort William Henry fortification into an interactive display designed to capture the magic of winter with video projections, music and lights. Winter’s Dream opens on Dec. 8. Both attractions will remain open through March.
In addition to the new attractions, a favorite winter event for more than 60 years, the Lake George Winter Carnival, returns the first weekend in February with a full schedule of races, cook-offs, children’s activities, polar plunges, bonfires and fireworks. The Winter Carnival is held each weekend in February. The holiday lights will be lit each evening at dusk and will remain on through Winter Carnival.
Photos: Lake George holiday lights & parade
