December 28, 2012

This Sunday evening (Dec. 30) Lake Placid will play host to the 27th edition of Stars on Ice, featuring Dorothy Hammil and Kurt Browning. This winter will mark Browning's final season with Stars. Many of you may remember Dorothy Hammil winning the Gold medal at the 1976 Olympic Winter Games at Innsbruck, Austria. Hammil trained with figure skating's legendary Lake Placid coach Gus Lussi, and attended high school in Lake Placid in the late 60's and early 70's. So, this will mark a coming home of sorts for her.

Figure skating has left a big mark on Lake Placid's heritage. Lake Placid was once the "only" place to train with the best in the world during the summer figure skating years of the 50's, 60's and 70's. Many World and Olympic Champions were launched out of Lake Placid's program.

In the 1930's and '40's Lake Placid began producing ice shows with a distinctly Hollywood flair. The elaborate sets and paintings on the entire ice sheet of the '32 rink were amazing to see. Hollywood stars of the day played the parts of royalty at the annual coronation of the King and Queen of Winter, a Christmas week kickoff to the North American Winter Festival, which was comprised of all the winter events through February each year.

North American Winter Festival - 1949 program cover - courtesy Lake Placid Olympic Museum

The Lake Placid rinks have played host to many figure skating legends over the years, such as Sonja Henie, Dick Button, Peggy Fleming, Carol Heiss, Hayes Alan Jenkins, Gordon McKellen, Jr., Katarina Witt, Oksana Baiul, Denise Biellmann, and pairs skaters Rodnina and Zaitsev, among a host of others. The ice sheets are still filled with many of the world's skating icons at certain times during the year, and especially this week, as all the Stars on Ice cast is here in Lake Placid rehearsing for Sunday night's premier. (Pssst - insider secret...the 1980 Rink has been open to the public this week so far and many folks have been able to catch some of the cast rehearsing. Can't guarantee that however!)

Lake Placid Figure Skating School produced many champions through the years - photo courtesy Lake Placid Olympic Museum

Also on tap this weekend is Skate Into New Year, a family-friendly New Year's Eve event taking place on the Olympic Speed Skating Oval from 10:30 pm - 12:30 am. Now in it's fifth year, it has fast become the best family New Year's Eve event in town. All proceeds benefit the Lake Placid food pantry. It's requested that guests bring a nonperishable food item as a donation. Refreshments from local establishments will be provided. Initiated by Christie Sousa, a Lake Placid skater, in 2008, Skate into New Year was started to provide guests and locals with a family friendly event on New Year's Eve. To date the event has donated approximately $5,000 dollars to local charities. Additionally, First Night in nearby Saranac Lake has become very popular, with a multitude of events at many venues. And don't forget the ski jumping events at the Olympic Jumping Complex. Search our events calendar for all the New Year's week events and for the rest of the season.

Over the years our winter events have evolved with the changing times. The North American Winter Festival no longer exists as such, but Lake Placid's winter schedule is still chock full these days. From the successful early November Bobsled and Skeleton World Cup all the way through March when Lake Placid plays host once again to the 2013 NCAA Division III Hockey Championship, Lake Placid plays host to events just like always - and there's no doubt about it... we love doing it!

- Thanks to the Lake Placid Olympic museum for some of the historic photos -

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