ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. (WKBW) — There may be no fall fest in Ellicottville this year, but there still is fall. People from across Western New York said the nice weather and bright colored leaves are some of the reasons why they went to Ellicottville on Friday.
This weekend would have been Fall Fest. The event was canceled in July due to COVID-19 concerns.
Ellicottville's biggest event typically brings in tens of thousands of people, according to Brian McFadden the Executive Director of Ellicottville's Chamber of Commerce.
“It’s about a $10 million economic impact to the county, and partially to Erie County as well," he said. "We fill every hotel about 45 miles normally.”
McFadden said people should consider coming to the village a different weekend. The area is expecting a higher volume of people than on a normal weekend.
“We’ve really been asking people to pick another weekend if you can," he said. "I can’t believe I’m saying that because my job is promoting Ellicottville, but we're asking. It's going to be very difficult to get in, very difficult to park, it’s going to be a tough weekend for visitors.”
He said Holiday Valley's Sky High Adventure Park is fully booked for the next two weekends.
A quick thread on this weekend:
— Holiday Valley (@holidayvalley) October 8, 2020
McFadden said the county health department, State Liquor Authority, and state and local law enforcement will be out enforcing COVID-19 guidelines. He said people in large crowds who are not wearing masks might be ticketed.
One group of visitors noticeably absent this weekend, and all of the summer season, is Canadians.
“It’s a big difference this weekend without having Canadian visitors because this is their thanksgiving, so usually we have lots of them in town,” said Jean Kirsch, owner of the Jefferson Inn.
Kirsch said the inn had no vacancies this weekend. She had many repeat customers, but said that most of her first time customers were from the Buffalo/Rochester area.
McFadden said visitors from other states help fill the Canadian tourist void.
