Moonlighter’s Winter Carnival Smashing Success

On January 16, 2010, over 400 spectators were dazzled by the Moonlighter’s Snowmobile Clubs 9^th Annual  Winter Carnival held at Mt. Sabattis Recreation Center in Long Lake.  Families hailed from as far as Cranford, New Jersey,  Paramus, New Jersey, Hyde Park, NY, Saratoga, Syracuse, Clifton Park, Plattsburgh and Buffalo. 

 The day started at 1:00pm with the coronation of the King and Queen of Winter Carnival Cliff and Shawnee Ross of Long Lake NY.  Cliff and Shawnee have been Moonlighters for over twenty three years.  Cliff is an active volunteer fire fighter for Long Lake and is very pro-active with the Moonlighter’s Snowmobile club and is passionate about keeping the sledding trails in good condition.  As an employee for the New York State DOT, Cliff plows our roads clear of snow and ice.   Shawnee Ross works for the Warren County School district, she is a member of the Long Lake Ladies Auxiliary working tirelessly to support the firefighters and fundraising for the Fire Department Building Fund.  Shawnee is often found teaching “Stampin’ Up” workshops  in Long Lake and sells her cards and stationary at local craft shows.   Cliff and Shawnee have five grown children. 

 The days competitive events included the Cardboard Box Derby, twenty one teams entered the competition. 

 Volunteer judges for the Cardboard Box Races were Sandy Burch, Colleen Smith and Christine Blumberg. 

The other events during the day included One Shot Basketball, Fire Equipment Relay Race, the Men’s Golf Drive, Dodgeball, Kid’s Balloon Chase, Goalie’s Day Off Puck Shot and the Broom Ball tournament where teams of five competed for five minutes each in a very physically grueling match up with over eight teams participating.

 The Ladies Frying Pan Toss is always a very competitive event and the build up this year was no exception with over 45 Competitors vying for the coveted first prize of $75.00.  Volunteer Mike Rivette of MDRM Industries instructed novices on the in’s and out’s of the throwing procedure and ensured no one stepped over the foul line.  The winners:

 1^st Place Nicole Andrews from Long Lake, NY, 2^nd Place Hillarie Dechene from Long Lake, NY, 3^rd Place Kitsy Rockstroh from Clifton Park, NY

 Long Lake Diner/Owls Head Pub Owners and active Moonlighters, Paula and Jim Piraino were instrumental in staging the day of competitive events and encouraging participation from organizations and businesses in town to contribute and volunteer their time. 

 Sponsors of the Competitive Events for Cash Prizes were:

 The Moonlighters Snowmobile Club, The Town of Long Lake, The Long Lake Diner, the Long Lake Real Estate

 The local businesses that helped offset the cost of the  organizing , planning and execution of the event included:

 The Long Lake Diner, The Town of Long Lake, Long Lake Central School, Long Lake Fire Department, Moonlighters Snowmobile Club, Wallace Contracting, Hoss’s Country Corner, The Cellar, Stewarts, and Quackenbush’s Long View Wilderness Lodge

 The finale of the day was a spectacular fireworks show at 6:30 that blazed and jazzed the  crowd. 

 The Fire Department served hot chili, homemade soup and hot dogs throughout the day and raised money for the Building Fund with a 50/50 raffle won by Donna Clark.

 The Town of Long Lake’s Little Bus operated from 3pm to 9pm to get people back and forth to the event and to enjoy the fireworks show.  Approximately 75 riders took advantage of the service throughout the day. 

 Winners Children 12 and under Racing

 1^st place Karlee Rockstroh and Matthew King  of Clifton Park

2^nd Place Lillian Dechene and Eve Tobey of Long Lake, NY

3^rd Place Luke Rider and Calvin Seaman of Long Lake, NY

 Ages 13 – 17

 1^st Place Emily Noonan, Melissa Labonte, Brad Stofa and Joe LaBonte from Hyde Park, NY

2^nd Place Jazmin Piraino and Monica Rivette from Long Lake NY

3^rd Place Shaneka Burch of Long Lake

 Adults

 1^st Place – Cate Hunt & Vickie Sandiford known as “Sista’s Corn”

2^nd Place – Jim Waite of  Long Lake, NY

3^rd Place – The “Bobby Ginge Crew” of Tupper Lake and Long Lake, NY

 For Best Decorated

 1^st Place designed by Bill Blumhagen and crew “G – Force” Rocket

2^nd Place designed by Eve Tobey & Lillian Dechene

3^rd Place Ried’s Rocket designed by Jim Waite

 Please check www.longlake-ny.com regularly for events and information throughout the year.

January 20, 2010 | Categories: winter carnival | Tags: blumhagen, cardboard box race, Cliff Ross, Frying Pan Toss, Hillarie Dechene, Long Lake Diner, Long Lake Real Estate, Mike Rivette, moonlighters, Shawnee Ross, winter carnival | 1 Comment