LAKE PLACID, ADIRONDACKS, USA – The Opening Ceremony and competitions of the Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) begin Feb. 25, but North Country residents and visitors will witness the pageantry of the event starting Feb. 21 when the ESWG Torch Run begins at the Essex County seat in Elizabethtown.

The torch run, the idea of Lake Placid's Joe Lamb at a recent organizing committee meeting, will pass through numerous northern communities en route to the Opening Ceremony at the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena in the Lake Placid Olympic Center. The route and accompanying logistics have been entrusted to Kareen Tyler, village clerk in Saranac Lake, who volunteered for the duty.

"This is a very exciting part of the Empire State Winter Games to have a hand in," said Tyler. "The torch run builds momentum prior to the event, and enables us to touch many people in the immediate area that is playing host."

Stewart's Shops, which made a recent donation of $5,000 to the ESWG Organizing Committee, will provide complimentary hot chocolate and cookies at various locations along the route.

The exact course that the torch will take will be finalized in the coming weeks as will the competition schedule. Both are currently in draft form.

As these elements of the ESWG developed, Games organizers received commitments from the towns of Harrietstown and St. Armand. The two entities drafted resolutions at their respective town board meetings, where the vote was overwhelmingly in favor of assisting with the execution of the event.

Harrietstown and St. Armand join the towns of North Elba and Wilmington, the villages of Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, the Olympic Regional Development Authority and Essex County as the saviors of the ESWG after New York State Parks and Recreation was forced to drop financial support due to budgetary constraints.

In other news, ESWG organizers reported that fundraising continues with an additional $15,000 having been pledged to date from businesses and individuals in Albany and the Tri-Lakes area this month. With monies raised and committed, all competitions have been guaranteed. For updated information about the ESWG, visit empirestatewintergames.com.

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