Baby, It’s Cold Outside

Discover one of the country’s oldest winter festivals—Saranac’s Winter Carnival

  • By Mariana Gosnell
  • Smithsonian.com, February 01, 2008, Subscribe
View Full Image »
$Alt
(Cheryl Carlin)

More from Smithsonian.com


Ice may be dwindling in other places, but every year in this Adirondack Mountain village (pop. 5,000), there's a spectacular buildup of it, in the form of an ice palace. Complete with towers, arches and crenelated ramparts, it's the centerpiece of Saranac's Winter Carnival. The townspeople make the palace themselves with 1,500 huge ice blocks cut from a frozen lake, then shine colored light through the translucent blocks, turning the structure a dazzling red or perhaps a cool blue-green (and occasionally revealing a dead fish).

Saranac Lake began throwing the carnival in 1887 to cheer up the patients at the local tuberculosis sanitarium during the long winters. This year's event (February 1-10) will also feature the crowning of a king and queen, cross-country ski races, figure-skating, a ladies' frying pan toss (that's hurling a five- to seven-pound cast-iron skillet) and softball on snowshoes. More than 30,000 people attend the event. Pick up carnival buttons designed by cartoonist Garry Trudeau (great-grandson of Dr. Edward Trudeau, who started the sanitarium) and perhaps catch a glimpse of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike on a parade float; this year's theme is "Hooray for Hollywood."

If you want to watch the ice palace go up, or even lend a hand, plan to arrive a few weeks early. Check the schedule. With winters getting warmer, explains carnival chairman Don Duso, the lake ice isn't always ready on time. "We've even made the palace during carnival."


Ice may be dwindling in other places, but every year in this Adirondack Mountain village (pop. 5,000), there's a spectacular buildup of it, in the form of an ice palace. Complete with towers, arches and crenelated ramparts, it's the centerpiece of Saranac's Winter Carnival. The townspeople make the palace themselves with 1,500 huge ice blocks cut from a frozen lake, then shine colored light through the translucent blocks, turning the structure a dazzling red or perhaps a cool blue-green (and occasionally revealing a dead fish).

Saranac Lake began throwing the carnival in 1887 to cheer up the patients at the local tuberculosis sanitarium during the long winters. This year's event (February 1-10) will also feature the crowning of a king and queen, cross-country ski races, figure-skating, a ladies' frying pan toss (that's hurling a five- to seven-pound cast-iron skillet) and softball on snowshoes. More than 30,000 people attend the event. Pick up carnival buttons designed by cartoonist Garry Trudeau (great-grandson of Dr. Edward Trudeau, who started the sanitarium) and perhaps catch a glimpse of a Marilyn Monroe look-alike on a parade float; this year's theme is "Hooray for Hollywood."

If you want to watch the ice palace go up, or even lend a hand, plan to arrive a few weeks early. Check the schedule. With winters getting warmer, explains carnival chairman Don Duso, the lake ice isn't always ready on time. "We've even made the palace during carnival."

    Subscribe now for more of Smithsonian's coverage on history, science and nature.



 

Add New Comment


Name: (required)

Email: (required)

Comment:

Comments are moderated, and will not appear until Smithsonian.com has approved them. Smithsonian reserves the right not to post any comments that are unlawful, threatening, offensive, defamatory, invasive of a person's privacy, inappropriate, confidential or proprietary, political messages, product endorsements, or other content that might otherwise violate any laws or policies.

Comments (1)

WOW i think that is amazing. i wish i lived there so i could see it in person

Posted by hailey redmon on January 25,2008 | 08:11 AM




Advertisement

Follow Us





First Name
Last Name
Address 1
Address 2
City
State   Zip
Email


Travel with Smithsonian




Smithsonian Store