LAKE PLACID, N.Y. --- Marvel at the autumn colors, while at the same time, hold your breath as athletes launch themselves off the 90-meter ski jump and soar the length of a football field, all weekend long, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 11-12, during the annual Flaming Leaves Festival being held at the Olympic Jumping Complex in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Some of the United States’ best ski jumpers and nordic combined athletes, men and women, will be competing both days, while fans enjoy live Blues bands and ribs, burgers and more prepared by Centerplate.

The Festival jumping begins Saturday, Oct. 11, with the New York Ski Educational Foundation (NYSEF) event.  The first of two rounds of jumping begins at 1:30 p.m.

Then on Sunday, Oct. 12, watch as a star studded line up of our nation’s best compete for the title of U.S. national champion in the sports of ski jumping and nordic combined.  Sunday’s competition starts at 11 a.m. with ski jumping, followed by the 10-kilometer roller ski to determine the U.S. Nordic Combined champion at 3 p.m. 

The nordic combined roster will feature a lineup led by five-time Olympian Bill Demong.  The 2010 Olympic champion and team event silver medalist will be gunning for his 10^th career U.S. crown.  His biggest competition may come from the Fletcher brothers, Bryan and Taylor.  Bryan competed in the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, while Taylor represented the United States in the 2010 Games, held in Vancouver, Canada.

Lake Placid’s own Nina Lussi, a five-time member of the United States’ junior world championship team, looks to lead the women’s field. Other members of the U.S. team who will compete are Sara Hendrickson, a 2012 World Cup champion and 2013 World Champion, as well as Jessica Jerome, an 11-time U.S. National champion.

The men’s ski jumping roster will be filled with Olympians including three-time Olympian Andres Johnson, who made is first Olympics at the age of 16, and Nick Fairall, a 2014 Olympian, who has been competing internationally for the past 15 years. Nick Alexander, a 2010 Olympian, will also be a part of the field.

While these athletes defy gravity, the Blues begins at noon, Saturday, and continues well into Sunday, from noon to 4 p.m. each day. Saturday’s musical lineup features Chaz DePaolo, 12-1 p.m. and 2-3 p.m., and Blues for Breakfast, 1-2 p.m. and 3-4 p.m.

Music on Sunday gets underway with Funky Blu Roots from 12-1 p.m. and 2-3 p.m., and wraps up with Waydown Wailers, 1-2 p.m. and 3-4 p.m.

Other activities during the festival include lawns games, craft vendors, tie dying and extreme tubing (Saturday only).  Hop in and hold on as you rocket down the landing hills of the 90 meter, 48 meter and 20 meter ski jumps, approaching speeds of up to 50 miles-per-hour.

The annual Flaming Leaves Festival is from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 11, and from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 12. Admission is $16 for adults and $10 for juniors and seniors.  Two-day passes are also available, $27 for adults and $16 for juniors and seniors, while the Olympic Sites Passport will also be honored for admission.

For more information about all of the activities and events that take place on ORDA’s Olympic venues, visit www.whitefacelakeplacid.com.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Photos courtesy of ORDA/Whiteface Lake Placid. Media planning on attending and covering the Flaming Leaves events, please contact Jon Lundin, ORDA public relations, Tel: 518-523-1655 ext. 5313 or email: jlundin@orda.org.

-- ORDA --

Established in 1982, the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority (ORDA) was created by the State of New York to manage the facilities used during the 1980 Olympic Winter Games at Lake Placid. ORDA operates Whiteface, Belleayre and Gore Mountain ski areas; the Olympic Sports Complex at Mt. Van Hoevenberg; the Olympic speed skating oval, Olympic jumping complex and Olympic arena. As host to international and national championships, the Authority has brought millions of athletes, spectator and participants to the region, resulting in significant economic development.