North Creek gets naked for calendar

Who's in North Creek's 2013 naked calendar? That's classified information, says calendar co-creator Nancy Beaudin, who will be "exposing" the calendar with her committee on Sunday, Aug. 12 at Riverfront Park near the train station. The party, including music by Adirondack Bluegrass and Decadence, runs from 2 to 5:30 p.m. The name of the project is the North Creek All Aboard 2013 Calendar, and it all began with an urge to help others. Beaudin has helped with fundraising efforts for the Elizabeth Nash Foundation, which supports cystic fibrosis research. "And I was interested in creating something to give funds to that foundation," Beaudin said. So she got a committee together, and they decided to sell a naked calendar to raise money for six not-for-profit organizations: the Elizabeth Nash Foundation for Cystic Fibrosis, North Country Ministry, North Country Hardship Fund, Johnsburg Historical Society, the Tannery Pond Community Center Association, and the Adirondack Tri-Country Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The committee started work on the first Sunday in January and has met almost every Sunday since to create the calendar. The idea was inspired a couple of projects, including "Calendar Girls," a 2003 movie about a group of British women who posed naked for a calendar to raise funds for a local hospital. And Beaudin's daughters in Vermont had sent her the 2002 and 2003 calendars of "The Men of Maple Corner," a similar project featuring naked men that raised money to keep the Maple Corner Community Center open in Maple Corner, Vt. "They're funny, they're fun, and I just always loved the project," Beaudin said. "And I always had it in the back of my mind that I'd like to do a naked calendar." Unlike the British and Vermont calendars, the North Creek calendar has gone co-ed. Men and women from their 40s to age 80 come from all walks of life. "Everyone in the calendar is naked; however, it's done very tastefully," Beaudin said. "There is no genitalia, no breasts are shown. We're not fuzzing out anything; we're posing our models so that it's done very tastefully." So, who's in the calendar? The committee wants to keep most of the names secret until the reveal party on Aug. 12, but Beaudin gave up a few names to help whet the appetite of the calendar-seeking public. Beaudin's husband, Joel, is Mr. March. He posed at his maple sugar shack in North River. Joel is a managing member at the Copperfield Inn and the co-chair of the North Creek Business Alliance. "My husband first kind of grumbled because he says that I offered him as the first model," Nancy said. "However, he's very proud to tell people now, 'I was the first one to have my picture taken.'" Nancy didn't escape with her clothes on; she and other committee members also posed naked for the calendar. The cover photo taken by Craig Murphy features Sally and Bill Heidrich, Mary Ellen Dowling, Sharalee Falzerano and Linda Combs welcoming railway visitors to town at the North Creek train station. Richard Stewart, in his garden on Peaceful Valley Road, is Mr. April. And Frank Conti, playing his saxophone, is Mr. October. But those are all the names Nancy was willing to release until Sunday. "I think people are very, very curious," Nancy said. "A lot of people are excited about the project and are anxious for Aug. 12 to come. So once we expose the calendar, they can buy the calendar and it's out in the open." Four photographers helped with the project: Craig Murphy, Stephanie Leonard, Dave Braley and Elise Woodlund. Suzanne Murtha was the graphic artist. Even before the first calendar is released, some people want to know if there will be a sequel. "We're hoping that we have a lot of success and that we can do at least one more," Nancy said.

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North Creek gets naked for calendar

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