“The exciting thing is that no matter who’s leading it, it really brings everyone together in the community,” said Debbie Erenstone, one of the Rotary co-leaders helping with this year’s effort. “It allows us to all touch base and be excited about embracing our community and welcoming others to visit.”

To get involved this weekend, community members can simply show up at the Lake Placid Village Beach House from 9 to 11 a.m. on Saturday for registration, street assignments and to pick up bags. Questions can be sent to lpcommunitycleanup@gmail.com. There will be free pizza for participants from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., courtesy of Mr. Mike’s Pizza and Italian Restaurant.

The Lake Placid Garden Club hosted the first community clean-up in 1960. A short story in the May 13, 1960, edition of the Lake Placid News tells of two days of picking up trash and encouraging residents to take the time to check fire hazards and “safeguard health.”

From the beginning, there was always an emphasis on getting Lake Placid kids involved in the effort. Linda Friedlander, who started volunteering with the Garden Club in 1965 when she moved to Lake Placid, said the best part was always visiting the schools and seeing the kids get excited about the “clean-up ladies.”

For the flier design this year, there were about 150 to 200 submissions from Lake Placid Elementary School and St. Agnes Preschool kids. Erenstone has been involved with the clean-up day since her kids were really young. She thinks it’s important to start these actions and attitudes at a young age, to teach kids that it’s their responsibility to both clean up litter and not create it in the first place.

“It gives them ownership and pride in their community and helps them understand the repercussions of their actions,” she said.

Rotary co-leader Daci Shenfield remembers being a kid participating in these clean-up days. Picking up trash is a simple action, but it makes a big difference. In the wake of melted snow, there’s always all sorts of trash that gets left behind.

“You’re picking up trash — but it’s fun,” she said, “because you’re also just helping make things prettier.”

Erenstone has at times made a bit of a hobby out of cleaning up trash in Lake Placid. She said she and Sarah Galvin of The Bookstore Plus spent a few years going out to collect trash on Sunday mornings, armed with buckets and grabbers. She said it was kind of interesting to see the trash that got left behind.

“It’s honestly fascinating to see what trends change based on what the stores are selling downtown, what type of crowd is in town on that weekend,” she said. “And sometimes we would make up stories about the most interesting thing we found that day.”

Also new this year: the village will be helping by picking up trash bags from designated pick-up spots around town. Shannon Porter, the department head of the North Elba Recycling Center and Transfer Station, has been involved with the clean-up day for 20 years, as she has worked her way up the ranks at the transfer station. She agrees that this is an essential community effort that is important for kids to see.

“It brings the community together,” she said. “Most people take great pride in our community.”