Latest news with #Plattsburgh
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PHS Select Vocal Ensemble recognized at City Hall for recent achievements
PLATTSBURGH — The Plattsburgh High School Select Vocal Ensemble was recognized at City Hall, Friday, for its recent accomplishments, which included receiving one of the highest honors for choirs in New York. Music Director Cody Hampton said the ensemble traveled to Malone in May to perform at the 2025 New York State School Music Association Choral Majors Festival, which included receiving evaluations from two professional judges who evaluate choirs from all over the state. He said in New York, there are 15 zones for choirs, and this was their zone's 'majors.' For their performance at the majors, Hampton said there were six levels of difficulty in state music they could have chosen from. 'We did the highest level,' he said. 'So basically collegiate or professional level music, and there are four ratings you can receive.' Those ratings include bronze, silver, gold and gold with distinction. 'For rare exceptions, they give gold with distinction, which is given to groups that are basically exceptional in all songs that they perform, and we received gold with distinction on a level six,' he said as the audience gave them a round of applause. 'The students work extremely hard.' That hard work was on full display in City Hall Friday as the Ensemble performed three of the songs that helped them earn such high recognition. 'You can kind of tell by the level of texture of the music, there's a lot going on, a lot of dynamic contrast, where there's parts that are loud and soft, and all of that is being evaluated,' Hampton said. 'The judges have the music in front of them when they're watching, so they see everything and they (students) did a really great job.' As a token of appreciation, Mayor Wendell Hughes presented several certificates to graduating seniors from the choir after their performance. Hughes also gave a proclamation, recognizing the entire Ensemble for their honors, to Hampton as well. 'Thank you so much for being here,' Hughes said. 'It's so amazing to watch the smiles on the faces of kids. It's just incredible.' In March, Hughes also brought the Plattsburgh High School a cappella group, Encore, to City Hall to also be recognized for taking first place during the International Championship of High School A Cappella in Troy earlier this year. Hughes said he would like to continue the trend of showcasing local students like this. 'I will recognize anybody from Plattsburgh High School — any city school — that does anything good,' he said.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Northern New York towns offer deals to lure back Canadian tourists
Businesses in northern New York are rolling out a welcome mat, but are facing overwhelming resentment from Canadians upset with Trump. If you've sworn off summer trips to the U.S., a new report suggests you're not alone. But some businesses just across the border are sending Quebecers a message that being Canadian comes with perks if you take a trip to northern New York. 'It's an unsettled time,' said Kristy Kennedy with the North Country Chamber of Commerce. 'What can we do within our power and within our world to make everybody feel welcomed?' With 70 per cent of its tourism coming from Canada, the chamber is rolling out a red and white welcome mat. In Plattsburgh, on the Adirondack Coast, that means hotel rooms at par at the Best Western Plus. At Bluff Point Golf Resort, free range balls and a sleeve on the house. And at Pizza Palace, a large two-topping pie and 10 wings for $36. Other towns like Lake Placid and Jay are also offering deals. But a new Léger poll suggests that while a lot of Canadians are travelling this summer, few want to go to the States. Seventy-five per cent say tariffs have influenced their plans to visit the U.S., with over half cancelling trips altogether. And tariffs aren't the only reason. 'The list is long from there. The political climate between the U.S. and Canada at number two. Third on the list is, half don't feel safe in the U.S. anymore. Exchange rate factors in at number four,' said Steve Mossop, Leger360's Western Canada Executive Vice-President. He adds that the deals may not solve those problems. 'The anti-U.S. sentiment is overwhelming in Canada right now,' he said. To that, Kennedy said: 'We know it won't fix everything.' But she adds that for these towns, it's not just about boosting business but bringing friends, family and French back to its streets - restoring that cross-border connection one small step, or one big special, at a time.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Peru Will Take the WIN!
PLATTSBURGH, NY – The Peru high school softball team would host, and eventually beat Franklin Academy on Tuesday afternoon in the first round of the New York State tournament. In what was not a very well contested game in a lot of ways, would see 20 total runs scored. 12 of which went to the Nighthawks in the 4 run win. Peru would take the lead for good in the bottom of the 6th inning of a 7 inning game. More on the New York State Sub-Regional, in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Lake Placid Walks Off…CHAMPIONS
PLATTSBURGH, NY – The Lake Placid baseball team would take the Class 'D' title in dramatic fashion. Vann Morrelli would get a walk off hit in the bottom of the 9th inning, giving Lake Placid a 3-2 win over Johnsburg-Minerva in the 'D' championship game. The game was completely scoreless for 5 and a half innings, before both teams would score 2 runs each in back-to-back half innings. Full highlights from the game and hear from the champs in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBC
30-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
U.S. tourism operators offer exclusive deals for Canadians to try to convince them to return
Social Sharing It's been a rough start to the golf season for Paul Dame, owner of Bluff Point Golf Resort in Plattsburgh, N.Y., about 100 kilometres south of Montreal. Over the past two months, he said, business for both golf and lodgings has plummeted 30 per cent compared with the same period last year. Dame attributes much of the decline to far fewer Canadian golfers, who typically make up about half his business. He said many past Canadian customers have told him they're avoiding the U.S., and hence his golf course, due to anger over President Donald Trump's trade war and threats to make Canada the 51st state. "They don't like being picked on, and to be honest, I can't really blame them," Dame said. "It's disheartening to have something completely out of my control that is causing my business to have a major downturn." In an effort to show Canadians they're welcome, Dame is now offering them a couple of freebies: a bucket of golf balls for practice at the course's driving range, and a gift set of three golf balls adorned with Canadian symbols, like a beaver and a hockey jersey. "The idea is that, 'Hey, this is a gift from us to you to show that we care and show that we appreciate you,'" he said. Dame joins many other tourism operators across the United States offering special deals for Canadians to try to convince them to cross the border — just in time for the summer travel season. The stakes are high. Canadians traditionally make up the largest group of international tourists to the U.S. In 2024, they spent $20.5 billion US in the country, according to the U.S. Travel Association. But that tourism market started to decline after Trump took office in January. By April, the number of return trips among Canadians travelling to the U.S. dropped by 19.9 per cent for air travel and by a whopping 35.2 per cent for land travel, compared with the same time last year. "We're really starting to see the impact now.... Everyone is scared," said Kristy Kennedy, vice-president of marketing for the North Country Chamber of Commerce. It helps promote businesses in the Adirondack region in Upstate New York, including Plattsburgh. To encourage their northern neighbours to visit, in April the chamber launched a TV ad campaign in Ottawa and across Quebec. It's also set to launch a webpage on June 1 that will list tourism-related businesses offering exclusive discounts for Canadians. Kennedy said the deals will include a 20 per cent room discount at the Best Western hotel and a free one-day rental at the Adirondack ElliptiGO bike shop, both in Plattsburgh. "We understand that there were feelings hurt, but understand that Plattsburgh and the Adirondack region value you and we want to make this relationship continue," Kennedy said. "We're ready to roll out that red carpet." WATCH | U.S.-based conferences relocate to Canada: Conferences relocating to Canada over harsh new U.S. border measures 17 days ago Duration 1:58 As Canadian travel to the U.S. continues to drop, CBC News has found several professional conferences relocated to Canada to avoid harsh new U.S. border security measures. One sociologist describes being grilled by U.S. customs officers who searched his phone and wallet. Are deals enough? Back at the Bluff Point Golf Resort, Dame said he may also offer some mid-week golf discounts. But he's concerned that deals may not be enough to repair Canada's fractured relationship with the U.S. "If your friend insults you, you don't give them $10 and go back to being friends," he said. Outside the CN Tower, a popular tourist destination in Toronto, several Canadians told CBC News that the U.S. is off their destination list, regardless of any promotions. "Because of Trump, I'm not going to travel to the States," Laura Livlik said. "I don't like his stance on gender and trans rights. I don't really like anything that he's doing down there, and it makes me nervous to travel down there." Nilay Shah said Trump needs to end his trade war to make things right with Canadians. "[A] discount is a temporary bandage, nothing else." But Maggie Hill said deals could entice her to cross the border. "Especially in the U.S., I feel a good discount would definitely make a difference," she said, referring to the Canadian dollar, currently worth 72 cents US. The weak loonie was part of the reason Visit California, the state's tourism organization, launched a website this month offering Canadians discounts on more than 1,000 California hotels, activities and attractions. Posted deals include a 20 per cent discount at the Little Italy Hotel in downtown San Diego and 15 per cent off a massage at Studio Soothe day spa in San Francisco. The campaign includes a promotional video ad celebrating Canada's ties to the state. "We sat down and said, 'How do we reach out with that olive branch? ... It couldn't just be a heartfelt gesture," said Caroline Beteta, president and CEO of Visit California. "There had to be something real, because the reality is, the [U.S.] dollar is so strong right now." The organization partnered with online travel agency Expedia to offer the deals. In a number of cases, Canadians must sign up for a free Expedia Rewards membership to take advantage of the offers. Seattle campaign declares success Up the coast from California, a grassroots campaign to entice Canadians to visit Seattle recently wrapped up. Dubbed Open Arms for Canada, 40 local businesses, from restaurants to hotels, offered Canadians discounts of 30 per cent from May 9-11 — when the Toronto Blue Jays were in town to play the Seattle Mariners. Howard Wright, chair of the Seattle Hospitality Group, which helped organize the campaign, said it proved successful, with Canadians taking advantage of the discounts more than 1,000 times over three days. "Isn't that amazing?" Wright said, adding that organizers may offer the deals again at different times during the summer. He said the best part of the campaign was that it sent an important message, one he hopes will continue to resonate — even after Canada-U.S. relations are mended.
