PREVIEW: 10 Years of Winter Carnival Fun at Saranac Lake’s Waterhole Lounge
** This article originally appeared in our February 2026 print issue **
“There’s a lot of heartwarming things [about this anniversary]. It’s been a big part of my life, with my band, personally, and with all of my friends, so this is going to be a big celebration.”
While the Adirondacks can provide some grueling winters, they also provide a winter wonderland for such longstanding traditions as Saranac Lake’s Winter Carnival — one of the longest running in the country, dating back to 1897. On Main Street is the three-story Waterhole Music Lounge, opened in 1970, providing a dive bar for locals and tourists alike. Eventually, a second floor would be added to house a large music venue, launching the site into its status as a premier destination venue in the Northeast. Now owned and operated by Eric Munley and his wife Kiki Sarko for the past ten years, the Waterhole is celebrating their ten-year anniversary of this latest iteration, as the first run of shows they had were for this event.
Munley worked at the Waterhole for almost a decade, doing everything from tending bar to booking bands and playing the stage himself as the mandolin player for longtime Saranac Lake-based favorites, The Blind Owl Band. Having met his wife at the bar a few years before they took it over, there is a lot to celebrate.
“There’s a lot of heartwarming things [about this anniversary],” Munley tells me. “It’s been a big part of my life — with my band, personally, and with all of my friends — so this is going to be a big celebration.”
For the town, Winter Carnival is an opportunity to embrace summer-like fun in the depths of those long Adirondack winters. Spanning over ten days, the event begins on February 1 and runs through February 15. The idea is to embrace the cold, turning it into a warm, welcome gathering of folks near and far. There is a mix of official town events, such as the Ice Castle that is built downtown, to spaces like the Waterhole that host their own series, with the big day coinciding with the town’s Parade Day, which occurs on the second Saturday of the month.
“The population doubles in size around that time, with nearly 5,000 tourists from all over, including the Capital Region. On that day, we are running music from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. We have one three-hour show during the day, clear everyone out, clean up, and bring in two other bands for a sold-out show that night,” Munley elaborates.
The goal of the lineup is to fill it with bands that represent the upstate New York region. This year, the lineup includes Munley’s own Blind Owl Band serving as headliners for Parade Day, the last part of their reunion run that began in 2025, before they go back on hiatus for at least a year. Also playing throughout the ten days are The Mallet Brothers, Annie In The Water, Sophistiphunk, and Folkfaces, amongst others. Munley went on to explain how the bands are chosen.
The Carnival is a revisit of our favorite bands of that year. This is a celebration of the bands who have connected with our crowds, have been playing here for a long time, and really understand that this is an important event.
For bands looking to perhaps be a part of the Carnival someday, there is the free concert series, ‘Party on the Patio’ that happens every Thursday during their summer season (April-October). For Munley, his goal is to book it 50/50 with first-time bands and returning bands so it acts as a sort of discovery for him, as well as keeps things fresh.
“If we want to bring in a band, we get them on the patio. See them there a couple of times, then maybe get them some opening slots, and if everything is working, then they could play the Carnival in a couple of years.”
For more information or to buy tickets, visit saranaclakewaterhole.com
