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Joy to the Children makes ’awesome’ return

Dan Stec and Chandler Ralph

After a five-year hiatus stimulated by the COVID pandemic, Joy to the Children, the benefit in support of arts programming for youth, was held at the Mirror Lake Inn. Once again, people from around the region were decked out in their finest as they ushered in the holiday season at the resplendent Mirror Lake Inn.

This year, there were some differences. The younger generation of Weibrechts, Ethan, Andrew, and Denja Rand Weibrecht, welcomed guests, allowing Lisa to enjoy chatting with beloved friends and acquaintances while Ed rested at home.

“It’s great to have Joy back and exciting to see everyone in one place to kick off the holiday season for a great cause,” said Andrew Weibrecht. “We never wanted to stop hosting Joy to the Children. The circumstances with COVID for a couple of years, and then it didn’t seem quite right to bring it back for a few years after that. Then this year seemed the right time.”

For Andrew, members of the family, and others at the benefit, saying the event was for a good cause is based on their experience of attending many of the art centers’ offerings for youth that the LPCA presents made accessible and affordable by Joy.

As a kid, I was very involved in the arts at the Center,” said Andrew. “I loved doing plays, ballet, and various creative activities. I attended tons of classes. It is something that I was very interested in, and I’m excited that my kids enjoy participating in the arts, athletics, and everything else they like to do. I think having opportunities in the arts is part of a well-rounded community. I feel that it helped me be a more well-rounded person, and I’m excited for my kids. All the kids can participate in the arts through fundraisers like this.”

Andrea, Stefy and Peter Holderied

Throughout the year, the Lake Placid Center for the Arts offers the youth of our region a wide array of free creative experiences when their classes are over for the day. Sometimes, the children draw, sometimes they delve into ceramics, sometimes they make masks, sometimes they decorate all manner of things, and sometimes they make things to eat, like Halloween-style cookies.

During the summer, the LPCA hosts Young and Fun, a free performance series for area youth. The offerings span the performing arts from dance to theatre and opera. Comedy, circus arts, clowning, improv, and all manner of music have been offered.

The history of Joy to the Children goes back decades to after the Weibrechts took ownership of the Inn. After several years, they decided to turn the annual staff pre-holiday Christmas party into a fundraiser for the Lake Placid Center for the Arts youth programming.

“I think it’s exciting to have Joy to the Children back,” said Lisa Weibrecht. “It’s been a while, five years. I’m pleased that we had such a good turnout. When I was on the art center board, Connie Stone and I decided that instead of having a Christmas party here, we should make it for the art center. The first year, it was a volunteer donation, and it’s just grown from that. It’s about the only thing in Lake Placid, aside from a wedding, that you can get dressed up for. Fortunately, we’re having good weather; the fresh snow makes a difference; people are happy to be out.”

Happy is an understatement. People floated back and forth, catching up with each other, enjoying the various food stations, and checking to see how their bids were doing in the silent auction.

Caroline Welsh and Diane Reynolds Ethan, Andrew and Denji Weibrecht.

“It’s just awesome that we’re able to come back and enjoy all the great food and company,” said Bill Kissel. “And what a cause, it’s the best, making the arts available to young people. It’s a special night for the whole community, thanks to the Weibrechts.”

“Having Joy back is fabulous,” said Diane Reynolds. “I think half the town is here. I’m seeing people I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s wonderful; it makes Christmas happen.”

“I’m thrilled to see so many people because they support the arts, especially for children,” said Advisory Board member Caroline Welsh. “We’re grateful to everyone who signed up and is here spending money on the silent auction offerings. It’s important because the arts nourish people’s souls. Starting young with children becomes a lifelong and gratifying way to enjoy art, music, theatre, and all the performing arts. The arts enrich life.”

“The art center’s reach is far more than Lake Placid,” Welsh continued. “The partnerships that Art Center has been establishing over the last ten years are incredibly commendable because it’s enriched the offerings, and working together helps them all thrive.”

By his reckoning, Senator Dan Stec has attended eight or nine Joy to the Children benefits and said he was not about to miss the reopening after five years.

Diane Scholl, Michael Maher and Jenn Holderied.

“The Mirror Lake Inn is beautiful 365 days a year,” said Senator Stec. “But when you decorate it for the holidays, add a little Lake Placid snow, and so many of your friends from town, it feels like you are at a house party with your family. It’s a wonderful event for a great cause; supporting the children’s program at the art center is fantastic. The arts are part of what makes us human beings; everyone can appreciate the arts no matter their politics, ethnicity, or national origin. The arts are a vehicle for human expression. No matter where you are from, people appreciate beauty, talent, and effort; the arts embody that.”

“Lake Placid is known as a sports town,” said Stefy Holderied. “When I joined the LPCA board, I did not know much about the arts, but I realized how important they were to the community. So, I got involved in serving on the board for ten years. There has to be a balance; without the arts, the community wouldn’t be half of what it is, so I support the arts, always have, always will.”

“The arts matter because they reveal the soul,” said Michael Maher, himself a gifted pianist.

The LPCA is still accepting contributions to support arts programming for children. When mailing in a donation, write For Joy in the memo.