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LAKE PLACID, N.Y. – Seventy-five years ago, the Lake Placid community came together to host an event that would change the small village forever. Despite the hard times of the Great Depression, organizers such as Godfrey Dewey went ahead with his vision in bringing the III Olympic Winter Games to Lake Placid.
This winter, on February 11, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) will bring a unique event to the 1932 Rink Jack Shea Arena to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 1932 Olympic Winter Games – the Diamond Dinner Dance. The event is a benefit for the 1932 & 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum to preserve New York State's Olympic history. This black and white1930's themed party features the Georgie Wonders 17-Piece Orchestra, dinner, an ice show with three international ice dance teams, as well as public dancing and skating and more. The evening begins with a reception starting at 6 pm with cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, and historical film footage from the 1932 Olympic Winter Games set to a musical theme played by a five-piece combo from the Georgie Wonders Orchestra. At 7 pm an identical replication of the dinner menu from the banquet Governor Franklin Roosevelt attended in 1932 will be served, including filet mignon and lobster patties. Dessert will conclude with the ice dancers, starring Switzerland's Nora Von Bergen and David DeFazio, Canadians Laura Csumrik and Kevin Gallagher and Kim Navarro and Brent Bommentre of the United States. These skaters will perform ballroom style dances on the uncovered portion of the 1932 Rink. The lively sounds of the Georgie Wonders Orchestra start again at 9 pm, playing songs from Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey and many more ‘30s favorites for people to dance the night away on a black and white dance floor. To add to the evening's exclusivity, part of the ice surface will be open for public skating while listening to the sounds of a live Big Band. Skate rentals will be available or partygoers may bring their own. Tickets for the Diamond Dinner Dance go on sale Dec. 12. Regularly priced tickets are $100 per person, or invite friends, co-workers and business associates and reserve a table of 10 for $1,000. Reserve your table by Dec. 31, 2006 and receive a special price of $750 per table. Tickets for just the dancing/skating portion of the event, starting at 9 pm, are $32 per person and include dessert, beverages and dancing/skating. Please RSVP by Jan. 31, 2007 as tickets are limited. Please check out www.whitefacelakeplacid.com as it will be updated with information from the 1930's, including hairstyles, music, dresses and dances that may be featured at the Diamond Dinner Dance. For more information, email Liz Mezzetti at
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To purchase tickets, visit or call the ORDA Store at 2412 Main Street, Lake Placid, (518) 523-1420, the 1932 & 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum at (518) 523-1655 x226, or the Olympic Center Box Office (518) 523-3330. Dance lessons will be available at the Lake Placid Health and Fitness on Friday evenings. Please call (518) 523-4127 for more information. Special Conference for Educators March 22-24, 2007 Hard Times and Heroes, an international conference celebrating the Diamond Anniversary of the 1932 Olympic Winter Games, is designed specifically for social studies teachers in grades 4, 8, and 12 as well as department chairs, teachers of ELA and the arts, museum professionals, local historians and Olympic scholars. Join us in this fitting tribute to these Games as we recognize the long term effect they are still having on the nation, the state and this region 75 years later. The 1932 & 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum and its cooperating institutions have put together a program with presenters from around North America and selected topics that are sure to add to your knowledge of the Games which took place against the backdrop of the Great Depression. Come hear documentary writer and producer Marc E. Nathanson tell the story of the town that made miracles come true, as he talks about the founding of the Village of Lake Placid, the town of North Elba and the members of the Lake Placid Club, whose contributions to winter sports in America can still be seen today. Education specialist Jeff Urbin from the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park will present materials on the role of then Governor and later President Franklin D. Roosevelt and New York State as Lake Placid and the nation organized for these early Games in the midst of the Great Depression. Our keynote panel will consist of Olympic scholars and authors of Selling the Five Rings Dr. Scott G. Martyn from the University of Windsor, Ontario and Dr. Robert K. Barney, Professor Emeritus from the University of Western Ontario in Canada who will present introductory materials from their new up and coming book. Kathleen Roe, Director of Operations at the New York State Archives will discuss use of documents relating to the Depression and the Games. Adirondack Museum Curator Caroline Welsh will trace the history of the Adirondacks through artifacts and tales. Fulbright scholar, storyteller, author and artist Naj Wikoff will bring to life WPA works of art and explain the Fine Arts component of the Olympics. Tying it all together, journalist Marge Lamy will present the history of the Olympic Winter Games. Cost
$ 75.00:
All conference materials, Thursday evening reception in Olympic Museum, continental breakfast, dinner on Friday and a Saturday morning Olympic Venues tour
$50.00:
All conference materials, Thursday evening reception in Olympic Museum and continental breakfast on Friday (no dinner; no tour) Conference site and lodging accommodations:
Hilton Lake Placid Resort
One Mirror Lake Drive Lake Placid, NY 12946
518-523-4411
www.lakeplacid.hilton.com
Single/ double/triple/quad $99.00 (subject to applicable taxes, unless exempt)
Reservations are limited, so reserve early! See you in March!! Conference information/ reservation:
1932 & 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympic Museum/ 518-523-1655, ext.226
PO Box 2002 Lake Placid, NY 12946 For more information on ORDA venues and events and for web cams from five locations, please log on to www.whitefacelakeplacid.com. |
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