Happy Thursday!
Greetings everybody! HALFWAY THROUGH SUMMER CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? It has been a spectacular summer so far. Lots of friendly faces and lots of good times and good weather! We've had a lot of HOT HUMID days with an appropriate amount of rain dabbles here and there. Fireflies in the yard and apples ripening on the branch! Lots of bat poop on the public bathroom window! Trails are reported to be in good shape, not too wet not too dry. The Deer Fly have subsided a bit around here. Someone saw a bear by Janack's but that's normal. This weekend is RANGER SCHOOL ALUMNI WEEKEND! Alumni from years past have begun descending upon the village! Live HONKY TONK CAJUN ZYDECO CREOLE STOMP with DENNIS STROUGHMATT and the gang THIS FRIDAY NIGHT 7PM! COME AND GET IT! This will be the EIGHTH WEEK AN A ROW WITH LIVE MUSIC IN Z PARK! It all kicked-off mid-June with the Wanakena Historical 60's Folk Fest and IT HASNT STOPPED! Wanakena History Center has been CRANKIN weekly special events! This weekend at the History Center: Sunday, 3rd, 1pm - Two Towns Story Project "Story Sharing" Pop-up Event (Theme: Ranger School Stories). Wanakena Church and Canton's Goldenaires a capela group held it's Christmas in July this past sunday! ZPARK Music takes a two-week break but picks back up in time for the arrival of RANGER SCHOOL CLASS OF 2026 on AUGUST 23RD FOR ELEVEN PIECE SALSA BAND IN THE GAZEBO! And after that will be a VERY QUILTY & REGGAE LABOR DAY WEEKEND! That's right! QUILT FEST IS BACK! Friday and Saturday. And then SOULSHOT live music in ZPARK Sat Nite! There is so much going on in the area! LIVE LOCAL! PLAY LOCAL! SHOP LOCAL! LET'S GET IT ON!
C'MON DOWN AND POKE AROUND BEAUTIFUL & HISTORIC WANAKENA SURROUNDED BY WILDERNESS AT THE MOUTH OF CRANBERRY LAKE! OTTO'S ABODE IS OPEN 9AM-7PM ALL WEEK AND 9AM-5PM ON SUNDAYS! TRAIL INFO, MAPS, BOOKS, GEAR, GIFTS AND GOODIES! ART SHOW ON VIEW! MUSIC! LOCAL HISTORY! CROQUET! HOT COFFEE, COLD DRINKS, ICE CREAM, SNACKS, BEER CAVE AND GROCERIES GALORE! THANKS FOR SHOPPIN' AND HANGIN' LOCAL AT YOUR FAVORITE YEAR-ROUND INCONVENIENCE STORE AND MORE! P.S. THE WANAKENA HISTORY CENTER IS OPEN 11AM-4PM EVERY SATURDAY AND SUNDAY ALL SUMMER LONG! P.P.S. DONT FORGET TO UNWIND YOUR MIND AT THE LABYRINTH! INCONVENIENCE STORE AND MORE! QUALITY YEAR-ROUND SERVICE DOWNTOWN WANAKENA NEXT TO THE POST OFFICE AT THE GATEWAY TO WILDERNESS OVERLOOKING THE OSWEGATCHIE AT THE MOUTH OF CRANBERRY LAKE! COME FIND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR AND PERHAPS WHAT YOU DIDN'T KNOW YOU NEEDED!
HERE'S A LIST OF SOME UPCOMING EVENTS HAPPENING AROUND THE AREA!
****UNDER CONSTRUCTION****
ALL YEAR - FREE COMMUNITY MEAL AT ST HUBERTS CHURCH 5PM
ALL SUMMER - YOGA AT THE CF COMMUNITY CENTER MON 5:30AM & TUES 9:30AM
ALL SUMMER - WANAKENA HISTORY CENTER OPEN SAT & SUN 11-4PM
JULY 31ST - EMILY DEAN CRANBERRY LAKE FISH RESEARCH AT THE CRANBERRY LAKE HUB
AUGUST 1ST - 3RD - RANGER SCHOOL ALUMNI WEEKEND
AUGUST 1ST - SUMMER SERIES CONCERT 3/5 - DENNIS STROUGHMATT & CREOLE STOMP
AUGUST 2ND - SOS GARAGE SALE 9-3
AUHST 3RD - SOS GEORGE PERSSON MEMORIAL 5K
AUGUST 3RD - CHRIS COLE LIVE AT THE CRANBERRY LAKE HUB
AUGUST 9TH & 10TH - CRANBERRY LAKE ART SHOW
AUGUST 14TH - MARK HALL PRESENTATION AT CRANBERRY LAKE HUB
AUGUST 15TH - JON FOSTER AND MO FORD TWIN LAKES HOTEL STAR LAKE
AUGUST 21ST - JACKIE AND KEVIN WOODCOCK PRESENTATION AT CRANBERRY LAKE HUB
AUGUST 23RD - CRANBERRY LAKE BOAT RACE
AUGUST 23RD - 7PM SUMMER SERIES CONCERT 4/5 - ORQUETA LA MURALLA
SUGUST 23RD - PRESBYTERIAN PICNIC ZPARK WANAKENA
AUGUST 30TH - 7PM SUMMER SERIES CONCERT 5/5 - SOULSHOT
AUGUST 31ST - FRIENDS OF CRANBERRY LIBRARY LIVE MUSIC NELSON BROS
SEPT 5TH - ANNEMARRIE ROWLAND FOLK MUSIC Z PARK 7PM
SEPTEMBER 6TH - STAR LAKE FIELD DAY
SEPTEMBER 20TH - PSYCHIC READING AT CF COMMUNITY CENTER STAR LAKE!
SEPTEMBER 27TH - OPEN AIR OPEN MIC ZPARK WANAKENA
OCTOBER 31ST - OPEN AIR OPEN MIC HALLOWEEN SPOOKTACULAR ZPARK WANAKENA
RISE AND SHINE CLIFTON-FINE... Starting from the west... Historic Fine Town Hall Building in Fine Village seeking input for its use and future! Fine Volunteer Fire Dept THANK YOU! Lodge at Dodge Pond OPEN. UBs Mercantile and ADK Rustics in Oswegatchie (Home of The Bargain Hunter!) are OPEN! Oswegatchie Community Garden GROWING! Around Star Lake: Star Lake's ADK Holy Grail gift shoppe OPEN with A GIANT LOON out front!! ADK Pharmacy OPEN. Clifton Fine Central School GO EAGLES! Fitness Center at the school is open M-F 5-8am & 5-10pm and weekends 5-10pm! Community Bank OPEN! Clifton Fine Hospital OPEN and HOPIN' you're healthy! They raised enough money to expand - check out their live construction camera! And look out for Food Truck Thursdays and Farmers Markets in the summer! Dollar General OPEN! Twin Lakes OPEN! CF Arena HAD A GREAT WINTER! Golf Course CLUB GRUB at the CLUB HOUSE has BREAKFAST LUNCH AND DINNER! CF Golf Course OPEN!! Star Lake Volunteer Fire Department THANK YOU! SOS Adirondack Exhibit Center EVENTS HAPPENING... stay tuned! Every Friday Night, open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous at the Schoolhouse 7PM. Clifton-Fine Community Center and Food Pantry & Free "Community Meal" Wednesdays! Todd Hardware OPEN and FOR SALE!!!!!! Coffee Fever SOLD? Circle Jays OPEN! What's The Scoop Scoops OPEN! American Legion OPEN and REFURBISHED with LOTS OF EVENTS! Newton Falls Giving Box & Post Office & Community Church OPEN. Newton Falls Volunteer Fire Department THANK YOU! Mountain Gate Plaza Bottle Hometown General Store, Deli and Redemption Center OPEN! Down in Wanakena Packbasket Adventures Lodge and Event Space in Wanakena OPEN... with NEW OWNERSHIP! Mary holds down 13695 Wanakena Post Office - Clifton Community Library Book Drop Box and Lost and Found and MORE out-front on Otto's Porch! OTTO'S ABODE OPEN ALL YEAR DOWN HERE! Wanakena Ranger School!! Wanakena Historical Association Walking Tour UP AND RUNNIN' FOR SEASON and the History Center OPENS JUNE 20TH and are every sat and sun though summer 11-4pm! Don't forget about the Wanakena Walking Tour and Labyrinth AND MORE! Clifton-Fine Summer Series in ZPARK SUMMERTIME check it out CLIFTON FINE ARTS. Common Thread Quilt Fest Labor Day Weekend! Out in Harewood: Wooden Fish Hathery OPEN! Billy's BLACK LIGHT ART SHOW this past Halloween! Cranberry Lake Volunteer Fire Department THANK YOU! Down in Windfall Wooden Fish Hatchery and Dragun Designs! Birch's Lakeside OPEN! Tilly's? Cranberry Lake Art Show 2025 GET READY!! Cranberry Lake North Shore Hub hosts space use, dock use, summer concerts and summer lectures! Clifton Community Library OPEN! Cranberry Lake Boat Club summer events! CHECK OUT THE Cranberry Lake DEC Campground! Cranberry Lake Mountaineers Snowmobile Club, check 'em out! THEY HAVE A GREAT LISTING OF LOCAL YEAR-ROUND RENTALS ON THEIR WEBSITE! Grasse River Railway, anybody? Sevey's Point at Sevey's Corner OPEN. Thirsty Moose Childwold OPEN!! Childwold Presbyterian Church though September 15th! And don't forget... Back West: 2E's, Golden Glow, Edwards Opera House, Jim's Auto in South Edwards OPEN! Plum Brook Cafe in Russell OPEN! Jockos in Degrasse OPEN and re-painted and hosting SUNDAY FUNDAYS!! CLIFTON-FINE RT. 3 CORRIDOR ROLL-CALL ROUND-UP! We're Southern St. Lawrence County. We're Northwestern Adirondacks. We're BOTH. We're NEITHER! WE'RE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE-LESS! WILD WEST! GREAT SOUTH WOODS WAY SOUTH OF THE ROCK! ALL THAT STUFF! OH YEAH! (Who's missing? What's stale? Les us know! Zoom Zoom!) Also... if you appreciate the work put into these newsletters (and Otto's Abode in general) consider donating something extra to the cause! We're on VENMO as Otto's Abode. Or as Click and Clack used to say: Write our address on a twenty-dollar bill and mail it to us!
"The moon like a flower in heaven's high bower, with silent delight sits and smiles on the night." - William Blake (1789)
