ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. — As signs of fall, like geese heading south and leaves changing color, the Village of Ellicottville has big expectations that their 2022 fall season will be the biggest one since the pandemic started.
"I mean look around you, it's amazing," said Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce Executive Brian McFadden.
The shift in the seasons also means the village is changing its focus to yet another event and activity schedule. The summer was busy but as for fall?
“Fall is actually much busier than the spring. Now folks have moved their weddings to the fall we have Fall Festival and the Halloween Half Marathon,” McFadden said.
Both events draw hundreds, if not thousands to the area and while they were both impacted by the pandemic over the past two years, McFadden says 2022 has been a comeback year.
"It's just fun to have different people at different times of the year who come to visit us," said Arleen Solly the owner of Kazoo II, a boutique shop located on Washington Street in the heart of the village.
Solly said that events like Fall Festival, which kicks off Saturday, October 8 and continues through Sunday, bring a lot of foot traffic and therefore business to her shop outside of events the village has been attracting more attention year-round.
"Not only do we have all the Canadians that can come and come freely but we have people from Ohio and Pennsylvania and in the summer we get people from all over, Europe even," Solly said.
While many are weekend visitors the fall season also brings many longer-term residents to Ellicottville. McFadden said his time of year many winter residents are preparing their cabins or homes for the ski season. He said 75% of village homes are owned by non-residents and the housing market remains competitive.
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"They come back in the fall to get the place stocked up, buy their skies, get ready to go, so it's an exciting time to see everyone back in town," McFadden added.
And whether people are coming to hike trails, go leaf peeping, or are coming to prepare for the winter season, the village is eager to welcome everyone.
"We welcome them all, it's a great place to be," Solly added.
While he doesn't want Fall to go by too fast McFadden did add that with winter approaching quickly season passes at places like Holiday Valley and Holimont are already going fast. The two ski destinations had a record year last winter so folks may want to act fast this year too.