Event-In-A-Tent: Kenis Sweet’s new tipi biz in LG

By Jaynie Ellis, Special to The Chronicle

A Lake George business that is the “first in the Northeast” to rent Scandinavian-style tipis for special events has had to postpone its inaugural year.

“This was going to be our big year to make a big splash,” said Kenis Sweet, “but there is no water to jump into” because of coronavirus pandemic restrictions.

The business is called Event-In-A-Tent.

Mr. Sweet, whose career is teaching eighth grade math at Granville Middle School, said friends in Wales in the United Kingdom had difficulty finding a company that would travel to set up a tipi at their wedding, so they decided to start their own rentals. He said their business is thriving.

Mr. Sweet said they asked him to be a partner to help them expand overseas. “We are not the first in the U.S.,” he said, “but we are the first in the Northeast.”

Although there are many similarities to Native American tipis, Mr. Sweet said these tipis are actually traditional to the Sámi people of Sweden and that some Sámi helped to design the rental tipis — making them authentic replicas, but with some modern elements.

The tipis are made of natural materials, including spruce poles that are 27 feet long from trees grown above the Arctic Circle.

The tipis come in different sizes and can be rented along with seating arrangements, lighting packages, stages, dance floors, bars, and fireplaces.

Mr. Sweet said the price of a rental varies between events because of the many options there are to choose from.

Mr. Sweet touts the tipis as perfect for weddings, galas and festivals.

“In Britain festivals are huge,” he said. He said that last December, the Lake George Chamber of Commerce used his tipi at their Christmas market.

“One tipi fits 60 people comfortably,” said Mr. Sweet. “They say 72; we feel that’s pretty tight.” Multiple tipis can be connected to each other.

“We go to you… we are willing to travel anywhere,” said Mr. Sweet. “I’ve even got one [an event] lined up in Michigan.”

Despite the postponement of some weddings, a large gala of around 400 people, and a few other events that had already booked his tipis this year, Mr. Sweet is looking at the brighter side.

“If there is an advantage [to the pandemic],” he said, “it is helping us to be better poised for next year.”

Visit the website event-in-a-tent.com to view diagrams and pictures of all the tipi options. Info: (518) 419-6824 or email info@event-in-a-tent.com.

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The Chronicle’s Mark Frost and Sandra Hutchinson contributed to this article.

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