NEWS: Lake George Officially Reopens Shepard Park Amphitheater
“For a century, this amphitheater has been at the heart of our village's cultural life. It's where generations have made memories that stay with them.”
A little over two years ago, the previous structure of the locally renowned Shepard Park Amphitheater in Lake George was lost in a devastating electrical fire. Overnight, the venue in the heart of the village that hosted an annual summer concert series and was absolutely vital to the town’s tourist experience had become a total loss.
“It was terrible to hear about it and see it the next morning,” Dan Barusch, Lake George’s Director of Planning and Zoning, told me when we spoke about it in 2025. “There were a lot of people that responded quickly, a lot of people that were quite upset about it. The Village did a great job responding to the site and working to clean up the damage and the burnt building, of which there was effectively nothing left.” Remarkably, the community pulled together and made the ensuing cleanup as quick as possible: only one week of that summer’s entertainment schedule needed to be cancelled.
After two years of planning and construction, the new state-of-the-art Shepard Park Amphitheater was unveiled to the public last week on Friday, July 17. The Village teamed up with Live Sound and the Lake George Arts Project to turn the grand opening into an all-day affair complete with tours to the public, an official ribbon cutting ceremony, and a full day of live music which kicked off with the Stony Creek Band at 12 p.m. (who have been playing music on this stage in some form for over 40 years).
I was fortunate enough to take a tour of the new structure, and it was immediately obvious that this was a heartfelt attempt by those involved to bring the Shepard Park entertainment apparatus into a bold new era while also paying homage to the history of the venue and its ties to Lake George as the gateway to the Adirondacks. The tour highlighted extensive renovations to the grounds in addition to the rebuilt structure, including new stone seating, AV light towers for sound and lighting, and illuminated handrails. The stage was a hybrid construction project with a concrete floor, steel superstructure, and glulam cladding made with laminated timber. A 38.10 x 13.6-foot glass hanger door will also allow for shows to face the opposite direction and have exposure to the lake, a brand new feature that adds something never before seen at the venue. Parts of the external structure were also finished with local stone provided by Champlain Stone of Ticonderoga.
The new features don’t stop there, though. A major part of the planning process for the project was a concerted effort to upgrade the facilities at the venue in order to continue to attract bigger and better shows to the village in the future. To that end, the stage building also features a basement which houses a green room and community meeting space with large windows looking out to the Lake George boardwalk outside, ensuring that the venue will not only continue to host premium entertainment but also serve as a multidimensional space for the village to use.
However, the construction was not without its challenges. Chief among them was finding a way to fit the ambitious plan into the space allowed, accommodating the basement space under the existing dance floor and boardwalk.
“We realized that we have a boardwalk here that we're not going to move, and we have a dance floor up there that we're not going to move,” said my tour guide, Chris. ”So we had to stuff a building in here that you can walk in, and we found the perfect level. We got about three feet from the stage down to the dance floor, and we got about six inches above the walkway here so water will drain away from it.”
After the Stony Creek Band christened the new stage with an hour-long set, the official ribbon cutting ceremony got underway with some speakers from the state and local government. Village Mayor Ray Perry welcomed everyone by thanking the community for their support, in addition to expressing his gratitude to the Downtown Revitalization Initiative and all of the contractors and laborers who worked on the project. He also touched on just what it meant to be able to rebuild the venue so it could return to its rightful place in the Lake George pantheon.
“For a century, this amphitheater has been at the heart of our village's cultural life,” he proclaimed. “It's where families have spent summer evenings listening to concerts, where festivals have brought people together from near and far, where generations have made memories that stay with them.” He went on to express his thanks to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Governor Kathy Hochul, whose support of the project at the State Government level was essential to bringing the project to life.
“This stage represents more than an upgrade; it represents Lake George's belief in the power of community, the arts, and shared experiences,” Perry added. He added that he couldn’t wait to see performers, musicians, and organizations continue to bring the stage to life for years to come.
“With gratitude for the past, excitement for the future, appreciation for every person who helped to bring us to this moment, it is my honor to officially open the new performance stage at the Shepherd Park Amphitheater,” he concluded.
With that, the new and improved Shepard Park Amphitheater is officially up and running, re-establishing itself as the heart of entertainment in one of the 518 community’s busiest summer towns. The summer concert series presented by the Lake George Arts Project is in full swing, and includes upcoming performances by local favorites like Oobleck, The Bluebillies, Alex Torres & His Latin Orchestra, and The Ill Funk Ensemble.
For more information and the full summer schedule, visit https://lakegeorgearts.org/summer-concert-series/!
