The highlight of Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival is always the gala parade, which is held on the second Saturday of the event each February and draws thousands of spectators, just like it did in 2020, seen here. (Enterprise file photo — Lou Reuter)

SARANAC LAKE — Planning for February’s “Totally ’80s” Winter Carnival is in full swing.

While local health officials are keeping an eye on rising COVID-19 case numbers, which impacted last year’s celebrations, they say Carnival’s mostly outdoor nature should still allow most events to happen this time.

As the annual event reaches its 125th year, the Winter Carnival organizing committee is preparing to become a nonprofit tax exempt organization again, and the group is planning other things to celebrate this significant anniversary.

“I think it’s a great indicator of what kind of community we have, to be able to do this for 125 years and keep it going,” Winter Carnival Committee Chairman Jeff Branch said. “It’s not often done.”

Saranac Lake village Health Officer Ray Scollin said the biggest positive difference people can make to ensure a successful Winter Carnival is to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

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Carnival and COVID

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The village usually issues park and street closure permits for Carnival events and parades, and Scollin is consulted on these decisions. He said the village has not yet sought his recommendations on approving these permits.

“We’ve been told by all the appropriate governmental agencies we can do a full Carnival,” Branch said Wednesday.

This is because most Carnival events take place outdoors, he said.

“Obviously, everything is tentative, something could happen,” Branch said. “But all indicators so far, anything outside, there’s been really no significant spreading of COVID at outside events.”

Scollin said he agrees that outdoor events are safer, but he’s still keeping an eye on the recent surge in local COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, and though there haven’t been any guideline changes, he said Franklin County is discouraging large outdoor events at this time.

“The numbers in Franklin County are unbelievably high,” Scollin said. “We’re looking at a 10% seven-day average for positivity. And the hospital numbers are really high.”

He said indoor events are dangerous to hold because so many people in the area remain unvaccinated.

Scollin said he’s not “panicked.” Winter Carnival is still two months away, and he said this area has time to reverse course. But he is “concerned” because of the current surge in cases.

On Thursday, Essex County saw 114 new cases over three days, with a total of 185 active cases, and Franklin County saw 52 new cases with 328 active cases. Both county health departments have recorded several COVID-related deaths recently, and hospitals have reported a rise in hospitalizations in the past month.

Back in October, Scollin said he felt more “positive” about Carnival, but now, “there’s some real concern” on his part.

“Things have changed dramatically,” Scollin added. “This certainly isn’t omicron, this is what I believe to be a seasonal process going on here that is hugely exacerbated by the unvaccinated.”

Scollin said the only way to reverse the trend is for people to get vaccinated and get their booster shots if they haven’t yet.

“Vaccination is a proven process at this point,” Scollin said. “It’s no longer being thrown out there as something that hasn’t been FDA approved … there are hardly any negatives.”

He said one common area of confusion is that people who get vaccinated can still catch COVID-19.

“It isn’t about whether or not you contract COVID,” Scollin said. “It’s all about, ‘How bad are your symptoms?'”

At University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, Vermont, where he works, Scollin said 75% of COVID-positive patients with severe symptoms are unvaccinated. He said these are people of all age groups, too.

Scollin said it is too soon to say what his recommendations to the village will be. He said outdoor events — which most Carnival events are — are safer than indoors ones, but that people should be wearing masks whether they are in crowds outdoors or indoors.

Certain events, like the Carnival Court Coronation or the Rotary Club show, are held indoors at the town hall. Branch said these will be up to the hosting groups on how they are held. On Thursday, Rotary Club members Mary Brown said the Rotary Club is planning another virtual show — a retrospective looking back on decades of the variety show.

The Women’s Civic Chamber’s Carnival Court Coronation may be held indoors or outdoors, according to organizers, with possible limits on capacity if indoors.

Branch said all Winter Carnival committee event organizers who run events like the fry pan toss or ice golf are ready to move forward with their events.

The first Ice Palace planning meeting will be held Dec. 17, he said.

Branch said he was encouraged to see a big group at the Carnival committee’s Tuesday meeting, with some new people attending.

“It made me feel warm inside, thinking, ‘Hey, maybe we are getting back to normal,'” he said.

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Becoming tax exempt

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The Winter Carnival organizing group — the Society of the Promotion of Winter Carnival — is in the process of becoming a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization again. The Society was a 501(c)(3) from its inception in 1971 until the 2010s, when it was discovered the society was not a tax exempt organization because it was noncompliant with all the Internal Revenue Services requirements at the time. Branch said the group has been a 501(c)(4) since then, which allows it to write off purchases as business expenses, but doesn’t carry the tax exemption benefits.

It’s been a long process to become a tax exempt organization again, he said. This would mean purchases the organization makes would not include sales tax and donations made to the group would be tax deductible.

Branch said this means larger corporations would be more likely to donate, as they’re typically looking for tax write-offs in their charitable donations.

In changing from a 501(c)(4) to a 501(c)(3), the organization is also renaming itself from the “Society of the Promotion of Winter Carnival” to the “Society of the Preservation of Winter Carnival.” Branch said it helps to have an educational goal when getting tax exempt status.

“The name helps show that we’re preserving our culture, preserving our history,” Branch said.

Earlier this year, the committee purchased a mobile Carnival museum structure the committee has named “Headquarters,” where Carnival artifacts and memorabilia will be on display. Branch said this structure should open to the public in January.