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lake placid, adirondacks, usa – With the countdown beginning to the 2012 Empire State Winter Games (ESWG) in the Lake Placid Adirondack region, event organizers have announced a torch run, supported by Stewart's Shops, will be held Feb. 1-2.
The iconic prelude to these Games will begin in Elizabethtown on Wednesday, Feb. 1, and will conclude at the 6 PM Opening Ceremony in the Lake Placid Olympic Center on Thursday night, Feb. 2.
Competitions in 16 disciplines, including some adaptive sports, will be held Feb. 2-5. Sport organizers project the total number of participants to perhaps exceed 1,000. The 2012 edition of the ESWG was expanded by one day.
Saranac Lake Village Clerk Kareen Tyler, the volunteer coordinator of the torch run since last year's debut, announced Tuesday that the event will start at the Stewart's Shop in Elizabethtown at 9:15 AM.
"Fans of the ESWG, families of runners and Games athletes, and other supporters are encouraged to cheer the torch runners as the make their way through the area," said Tyler.
From Elizabethtown, the torch will run up and over Route 9N / Spruce Hill to the Route 73 intersection, where it will turn left onto Route 73 and proceed to Marcy Field between Keene and Keene Valley.
Afterward, the torch run will advance to the Stewart's Shop on Route 73 in Keene. After a brief rest for "re-fueling" with hot chocolate and cookies, the torch moves to Ausable, Jay, the bus drop-off at Steinhoff's on Route 86 outside Wilmington, and finally to the Wilmington Youth Center on Springfield Road where the day's activities will culminate.
More specific times for the first day are forthcoming.
On Thursday, Feb. 2, the torch run will resume at 2:40 PM at the Mount Pisgah Recreation Center in Saranac Lake. It will be carried to the Dewey Mountain Ski Center off Route 3 outside the village at 3:10. The Saranac Lake Stewart's Shop on Bloomingdale Avenue will host the torch at 3:45. At 4:15 it will stop at the Saranac Lake Winter Carnival Ice Palace on River Street.
With anticipation building for the Opening Ceremony in the 1980 Herb Brooks Arena, the torch run will resume at 5:30 PM at the Stewart's Shop on Main Street in Lake Placid, followed by the 6:00 entry into the ceremony site.
2012 EMPIRE STATE WINTER GAMES TORCH RUN SCHEDULE
February 1:
· 9:15 AM / Stewart's Shop in Elizabethtown
· TBD / Marcy Field on Route 73 between Keene and Keene Valley
· TBD / Stewart's Shop on Route 73 in Keene
· TBD / Ausable Forks
· TBD / Jay
· TBD / Bus drop-off at Steinhoff's on Route 86
· TBD / Wilmington Youth Center on Springfield Road
February 2:
· 2:40 PM / Mount Pisgah Recreation Center, Saranac Lake
· 3:10 PM / Dewey Mountain Ski Center, Saranac Lake
· 3:45 PM / Stewart's Shop, Bloomingdale Ave., Saranac Lake
· 4:15 PM / Ice Palace, River Street, Saranac Lake
· 5:30 PM / Stewart's Shop, Main Street, Lake Placid
· 6:00 PM / Lake Placid Olympic Center (Herb Brooks Arena)
-ESWG-
Empire State Winter Games sponsors:
Stewart's Shops and its 328 convenience stores in NY and VT; Price Chopper, best in fresh supermarkets in six Northeastern states; Select Sotheby's International Realty, a luxury home realtor focusing on the Capital Region and the North Country; Paul Smith's College, a natural fit for our athletes who have an affinity to the Adirondacks; Correctional Eye Care Network Services, a nationwide eye care company, which recently opened a Lake Placid office; Ski Monkey, a company with an innovative learn-to-ski product; Life is Balance, celebrating activities that balance our lives; Adirondack Broadcasting; National Sports Academy; Lake Placid Marathon and Half; AMI Graphics, LLC; The Dancing Bears at High Peaks Resort; WAMC, Northeast Public Radio; Kay Stafford, in Memory of Senator Ron Stafford. In-kind contributors include Clif Bar, CABOT Creamery, Cape Air, Freihofer's and Young Explosives fireworks
Empire State Winter Games coalition:
The Empire State Winter Games is a community-driven event, courtesy of a partnership between the Lake Placid CVB, the Town of North Elba, the Village of Lake Placid, the NY State Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Village of Saranac Lake, the Town of Wilmington, Town of Harrietstown, Town of St. Armand, Plattsburgh/North Country Chamber of Commerce, Adirondack Medical Center, Sen. Betty Little, and Essex County. LPEC Quality Destination, Inc., a subsidiary of the LPEC Visitors Bureau, is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit, and is fiscally responsible for the ESWG.