It has been 40 years since the Lake Placid winter Olympics and the town is hosting an abundance of activities from Feb. 14–23 to celebrate the anniversary. Visitors will be able to explore the venues at the village, skate on the historic Olympic Oval, ski with Olympic athletes, and re-live the opening ceremony.

There will also be opportunities to meet medalists, including speed skater Dan Jansen, alpine ski racer Andrew Weibrecht, luger Mark Grimmette, figure skaters Paul Wylie and Scott Hamilton and many others.

On opening night, Friday, Feb. 14, families can watch or take part in the torch run through the village and the opening ceremonies, complete with torch-lighting ceremony and fireworks.

There will be a fun zone on Main St. every evening between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m, with live music and events, free hot chocolate, s’mores, a bonfire, games, and more.

Over the weekend, people can enjoy a free skating session at the Olympic Centre. There will also be arts and crafts, a meet-and-greet with speed skater Dan Jansen, and the chance to learn to curl with the Lake Placid Curling Club on Mirror Lake.

On Friday, Feb. 21, there will be an 80s Family Fun Party at the Olympic Jumping Complex with music, dancing, a DJ, food, and special appearances by ski jumpers.

Other activities throughout the week include a special movie screening of Disney’s Miracle (a 2004 sports docudrama about the United States men’s ice hockey team), a Learn-to-be-a-Biathlete event, and a fundraising event on Feb. 18 hosted by Scott Hamilton.

All winter long, there will be cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, pond hockey, dogsled rides, sledding and ice fishing. Adventurous visitors can also ride a toboggan down a 30-foot high slide, or even go careening down the Mt. Van Hoevenberg bobsled/luge/skeleton track.

There are a number of hotels in the centre of town for those wanting to stay a night or two.

For more information, visit lakeplacid.com.