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First Night knocks ’em cold

Joe Wiegand, impersonating President Theodore Roosevelt, pumps his fist after delivering an informative and encouraging speech to audiences at St. Bernard's Church Sunday night during First Night Saranac Lake on Dec. 31, 2017. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

SARANAC LAKE — New Year’s Eve was a cold night. Let’s rephrase that: New Year’s Eve was a really freaking cold night.

With wind chill factors reaching 21 degrees below zero, according to Accuweather, First Night guests were in for a freezing holiday But despite the frigid weather, many locals and visitors made it out to some of the performances.

This year’s First Night consisted of 18 performers at 10 different venues around Saranac Lake. From comedians to thespians to live music, First Night offered a well-rounded schedule of events.

Audiences at St. Bernard’s Church experienced a historical moment as President Teddy Roosevelt, or as he liked to be called, “Colonel,” presented a rousing and encouraging speech. This marked Roosevelt impersonator Joe Wiegand’s second stop in Saranac Lake in the past few months. He performed at the Harrietstown Town Hall this past September.

Weigand, as Roosevelt, told audiences of growing up as a weak, sickly and asthmatic child. Then one day his father called him into his office for a private word.

People dance to the music of Soulsha Sunday night at the Harrietstown Town Hall during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

His father addressed him as Theodore, a name his family rarely used for him.

“You have the mind,” his father said, “but you have not the body.”

Roosevelt, determined to have the body, started doing calisthenics and lifting weights. Ironically enough, it was actually the cold weather that Roosevelt’s father used to treat his son’s asthma. Roosevelt would ride through the streets of New York City in the middle of cold nights, allowing fresh air to fill his lungs.

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a Democrat or a Republican,” said Robert Brown, the local man who introduced Weigand. “Everybody loves something about Teddy.”

Comedian and Saranac Lake resident Owen Benjamin had a few things to say about the cold.

Soulsha leader Elias Alexander plays bagpipes Sunday night at the Harrietstown Town Hall during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

“People in Saranac Lake aren’t drunks,” Benjamin told audiences at the Harrietstown Town Hall. “They just drink a lot of beer to stay warm.”

He continued, saying weather like this is hazardous to your health. “You get a flat tire in this weather, and you just die unless you have Madden’s,” a local auto garage and tow company.

The last act of the night, Soulsha, performed their unique blend of Celtic and funk music at the town hall. With African percussion, bagpipes and a brass section, Soulsha offered lively music for a crowd of dancers. The band even joined in at one point, descending from the stage and dancing with the crowd in an almost conga-line fashion.

As the clock got closer to midnight, Soulsha invited people to stay inside and ring in the new year in a warmer environment.

Saranac Lake doesn’t do a ball drop like Times Square. Instead, it does a snowflake drop, but that didn’t happen this year.

Sousha percussionist Malick Ngom gets into the rhythm Sunday night at the Harrietstown Town Hall during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter) [Correction: An earlier version of this caption misidentified the percussionist.]

When the Saranac Lake Volunteer Fire Department responded to a chimney fire at 15 Canaras Ave. on Thursday, Dec. 28, the truck that would have lowered the snowflake broke down because of the extremely cold weather, according to Fire Chief Brendan Keough.

“Everything froze up on the truck,” Keough said. “To replace it with a new one is almost a million dollars.”

The truck is operational now, but after reading a weather forecast for minus 33 degrees with wind chill, Keough said it was unsafe to extend the truck’s ladder. Even if the truck was working just fine, the cold would still be problematic, he said.

“The truck’s job is to save lives and put out fires,” Keough said. “We love being a part of the event, but it was just too much of a risk this year.”

At the stroke of midnight, fireworks were shot off over Lake Flower. The booming rockets and bright explosions almost made people forget how cold it was. Almost.

Stand-up comedian Owen Benjamin, right, and his brother Jason Smith, both of Saranac Lake, perform Sunday night at the Harrietstown Town Hall during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

To see and buy a wide variety of photos, visit our multiple CU photo galleries of the event at CU.AdirondackDailyEnterprise.com.

Comedian and Saranac Lake resident Owen Benjamin pokes fun at the cold weather in the Adirondacks Sunday night at Harrietstown Town Hall during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Maria DeAngelo, Scott Eichholz and Matt Paul of Loonworks present a comedy skit at the Adirondack Carousel for First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Glynis Hart)

Merritt Billiter and Jason Borrie of Comedy Improv get some physical direction from audience volunteers Lena and Emma at the First Presbyterian Church for First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Glynis Hart)

Fifth-generation fiddler Patrick Ross performs Sunday night at St. Luke's Church during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Glynis Hart)

Roosevelt Dime, the Brooklyn-based Americana band, performs songs of their new album, “Red Shoes,” to audiences at Pendragon Theatre Sunday night during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

Tim Benway, drummer for Movin' On, plays with the country band Sunday night in the hall of the First United Methodist Church during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Peter Crowley)

Bear Campo of Black Mountain Symphony performs at the Elks lodge at First Night Saranac Lake Sunday night. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

The actors of Adirondack Shakespeare Company portray Oberon, left, and Puck in an abridged version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" Sunday night at the Saranac Lake Free Library during First Night Saranac Lake. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

At the stroke of midnight, fireworks shoot off over Lake Flower at First Night Saranac Lake. The spectacle almost made people forget how cold it was. Almost. (Enterprise photo — Griffin Kelly)

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