It has been four years and eight months since Lake George’s own Rich Ortiz took the stage with his guitar at the Charles R. Wood Festival Commons. He was the opening act of The American Music Festival for the Lake. Ortiz has the distinction of being the first to perform at the newest venue in town.
Meanwhile, across the road, small ponds alive with water lilies, turtles and frogs, quietly filtered sediment and harmful nutrients from the water that runs down the mountainsides and across the highway before entering Lake George.
This Wednesday morning, Village, Town and County officials, along with representatives of the three environmental groups and two family foundations that turned the West Brook Conservation Initiative into Charles R. Wood Park, gathered at the Festival Commons to recognize and celebrate the project’s success.
Village of Lake George Mayor Robert Blais says that it has been 14 years since he and prominent Lake George businessmen Bob Flacke and Will Dow stood on top of Fort William Henry and looked down on the site, the former Gaslight Village, which had been closed several years. They considered possible uses for the land that had, over the centuries, been a sawmill, a train station and an amusement park.
Developers proposed a condominium project or an assisted living facility. “We even had a gentleman that was gonna bring a permanent circus here to town,” the Mayor says. However, “What we wanted to do was create something that would be a legacy for generations to enjoy, and I believe that’s what we’ve done.”
That first music festival held in September 2014 was followed by even bigger music festivals and concerts bringing Marshall Tucker, Blue Oyster Cult, Charlie Daniels and others to Lake George. Since opening in 2014, Wood Park has seen car shows, the phenomenally popular Adirondack Wine & Food Festival, historical reenactments and a circus under the big top.
The Festival Commons opened in 2014 with newly planted sod, temporary fencing and rented portable toilets. Since then, the site has been enhanced with permanent fencing and restrooms, a playground and a skate park. The vision for the space was completed last year with a fountain, a plume of water that shoots into the air and splashes into a small pool and over surrounding paving stones.
The Environmental component on the South side of West Brook is an oasis in the midst of a bustling tourist destination, with winding walkways, benches and Adirondack chairs surrounded by native plants and wildlife. It is not unusual to spot a great blue heron among the cattails or see a whitetail doe wander down from the adjacent woods.
Heather Ward of the Wright Family Foundation, the organization that funded the Children’s Adventure Playground on the park grounds, says they supported the project because of the “…collaboration and partnership between nature and human beings, showing that we can co-exist in a sustainable way together.”
Lake George Waterkeeper Chris Navitsky says that the wetland complex on the South parcel of Wood Park was needed to address the excessive algae growth caused by storm run-off from the 64- acre Route 9 commercial corridor. The wetlands treat millions of gallons of storm run-off, says Navitsky, “not only meeting but exceeding our goals for keeping harmful nutrients and pollutants out of the Queen of American Lakes.”
The 12.5-acre parcel was purchased in March 2008. Funding for the purchase was provided by The Fund for Lake George, the Lake George Association, the Lake George Land Conservancy, the Town and Village of Lake George and Warren County. Today, the Village and County jointly own and operate the property. The Charles R. Wood Foundation and the Wright Family Foundation are major contributors to the project.
The Lake George Community Band performs at the Charles R. Wood Park Grand Opening Celebration. 
Charles R. Wood Park Grand Opening Celebration opened with a rising of the flag by the Lake George American Legion as the Lake George Community Band played the National Anthem. 
Pappy’s Playground, an adventure area for children, was added to Wood Park with a grant from the Wright Family Foundation. 
The Charles R. Wood Park combines festival space with an environmental park designed to filter storm runoff before it reaches Lake George.
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