New Year’s events planned locally
By ZACH SUBAR/The Leader-HeraldBoth traditional and wacky celebrations will be in full swing through Thursday as the region gears up to commemorate the start of a new year.
Shivering bodies will rule the day in Caroga, where for the second year, brave town residents will jump into the frigid waters of Caroga Lake on New Year's Day. In previous years, some residents had made the trip to Lake George for the annual Polar Plunge there. Last year, 12 town members stayed close to home to create the town's very own Polar Plunge.
Only four managed to jump in last year. Caroga resident Valerie Scribner, who spearheaded the event, says there is no telling how many people might go in this time.
"It's just one those of things where everyone goes with good intentions, and then you change your mind at the very last minute sometimes," said Scribner, who did not go in last year.
The event will kick off at 11 a.m. at Vroomans Hotel with snacks and a Bloody Mary bar. After that, participants will go down to a boathouse in between East and West Caroga Lakes. "The Star-Spangled Banner" will play, and the show will begin.
Last year, there still was ice near the spot where participants intended to take the plunge, so they walked to its edge to reach the water.
"This year, we hope to run in right from land right into the water and back," Scribner said.
Afterward, participants and spectators can return to Vroomans for more food and Bloody Marys.
The Canajoharie-Palatine Chamber of Commerce will host a Last Night Festival designed to create a family-friendly atmosphere on New Year's Eve.
The Arkell Museum will host a family movie night, complete with popcorn, from 6 to 8 p.m. and will have an open mic night afterward. Area bands - including Linda Lee and the Fox Creek Band, Stone Soup and The Choralaires - will perform at locations in Canajoharie and Palatine Bridge.
To finish the night, the town Fire Department will drop a large beech nut from one of its fire ladders at midnight to honor the local company of the same name. The Fire Department also is hosting a lasagna dinner earlier in the evening.
The event comes on the heels of a similar event in St. Johnsville last year planned around the village's 150th anniversary. A Last Night celebration will be hosted in Fort Plain next year, and event organizers said rotating it between Montgomery County municipalities helps keep it fresh.
"You have a chance to let other communities do their own specific events and keep it interesting for the people who want to attend and for the communities as well," said Picture Perfect co-owner Phyllis Lapi, who created the event's logo and contributed watercolor paintings that will be for sale.
In Johnstown, fireworks will blast off tonight to commemorate the end of the city's 250th year celebration.
The event will begin at 7:30 p.m. It was organized by Debra Kolsrud, who moved to Johnstown six months ago.
Kolsrud said last week the event was a fitting way to end the anniversary year.
Restaurants and businesses around the area also are hosting celebrations.
Gloversville's Holland Meadows Golf Course will host an indoor men's tournament at 8 a.m., New Year's Day for a $40-per-person fee that includes snacks, green fees and prizes. High Rollers Family Fun Center in Perth will be open for New Year's Eve roller skating from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m., and the Sophisticats will play at Spirits Restaurant and Lounge New Year's Eve at the Johnstown Holiday Inn.
The Holiday Inn and Amsterdam's America's Best Value Inn also have all inclusive New Year's Eve packages.
Many local restaurants will offer special menus to celebrate 2009. Mulligan's Restaurant at Kingsboro Golf Club in Gloversville will host a New Year's Eve dinner for $89.99 a couple or $49.99 a person. It will feature dinner, a champagne toast, and musical entertainment from husband-wife duo Edison Kane.
The Fireside Restaurant and the Funny Farm Comedy Club also are hosting an all-inclusive package that includes a dinner menu and a comedy show for $45 per person.
Call Mulligan's at 773-4600 and Fireside at 725-2200 for reservations. For more information on restaurants and activities, visit the Fulton County Regional Chamber of Commerce & Industry's Web site at www.fultoncountyny.org
Zach Subar covers rural Fulton County news. He can be reached at ruralnews@leaderherald.com
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westielover
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12-31-08 10:29 AM
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Global Warming, Resident. No snow.......LOL
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resident69
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12-31-08 8:46 AM
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What happened to the winterfest stuff? I don't see snow sculptures anymore. Maybe we could string up the missing laptop and drop that at midnight.
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cruella
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12-30-08 8:39 PM
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What are we going to do, walk up and down Main Street and look at empty storefronts windows and think about what it was at one time? It would be nice.Or we could stop in all the rent- a-centers and maybe have a hot cocoa. The cardshop would be nice, it`s always nice there. There`s just not enough to do down town to bother with it. You can go to Johnston for fireworks though! Or to Saratoga, there`s always something going on there. But they have stores to look into and many small coffee shops to go to. Yes and if you want to drink, there`s that too!!!! And hotels in walking distance. But what ever you do, Have a great New Years Eve.
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teendude
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12-30-08 7:52 PM
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my father says the cities can't even work together for a new year's eve first night.can you imagine if they tried to consolidate.
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lizzie
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12-30-08 4:00 PM
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It might be better attended and less expensive if the "twin cities" planned something together. It really is a shame there's nothing going on here, though we're looking forward to attending the fireworks in Johnstown.
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resident69
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12-30-08 11:39 AM
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I think Saratoga is the only First night event left in the area. It would be nice to have it again. Gloversville could hold it and at the stroke of midnight have a another vacant building collapse :-) But seriously, would be nice to have one here.
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bgaletta1
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12-30-08 11:14 AM
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It's a shame we no longer have First Night here in Fulton County. We attended for about eight years and now we're left wondering where to go. Come on Fulton County, there must be SOME way to revive the First Night festivities.
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