FREE! TAKE ONE! FEBRUARY 14 - 20,2020
CAR. TR. BULK RATE US POSTAGE PAID PERMIT NO. 244 BRADFORD, PA
TIMES
VOLUME 9 ISSUE 7
DIGITAL EDITION ELLICOTTVILLETIMES.COM
The official Newspaper of the Village of Ellicottville, the Town of Ellicottville, Ellicottville Central Schools and the Towns of East Otto. Great Valley and Mansfield, NewYork
Enjoy winter fun during February in Ellicottville By Kellen M. Quigley
February break is here, and if you’re not headed someplace sunny with the kids, take this time to enjoy Western New York and all it has to offer during this mid-winter recess. Head to the slopes and enjoy skiing at its best. Holiday Valley offers dozens of trails with varying terrain, open daily and well into the evening for some awesome night skiing and riding. Grab a hot chocolate in one of the lodges, perhaps a waffle by the bottom of the Cindy’s lift, sit outside by the fire pit and explore the resort. Want to try something new? Join other free-heeled skiers for a day of peace, love and telemark skiing at Telestock on Feb. 28, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more info, call City Garage at (716) 699-2054. The following day, on Saturday, Feb. 29, join the Penguin Paddle, an annual fundraiser for Holiday Valley’s Lounsbury Adaptive Program. The day will be filled with wonderful auction items, delicious food and lots of laughs as people slip inside garbage bags and slide on their bellies “penguin style” down the bottom of Yodeler slope. See the article below. Up for some tubing fun? Enjoy up to 22 lanes of pure downhill fun at Holiday Valley Tubing Company, located a few miles outside the village on Route 242. The best part? You get an easy conveyor belt ride back to the top The tubing park is open Thursdays through Sundays, and daily over the Presidents’ week school break. If the weather cooperates, keep your fingers crossed that the ice
See Winter Fun, page 5
Holiday Valley photo With the Presidents’ Week winter break starting this week, there’s still plenty to do in February in Ellicottville, such as hitting the slopes with some perfect skiing conditions.
This year’s unseasonably warm temps keep Ellicottville’s snowguns going By Deb Everts
Photo by Ginna Hensel This year’s ski season in Ellicottville has been a roller coaster of up and down temperatures, but winter is far from over. Who knows what Old Man Winter has in store for the next couple of months.
Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind whether it’s winter or spring, and Old Man Winter has been a bit sluggish this ski season. Jane Eshbaugh, marketing director at Holiday Valley Ski Resort, said there have been a lot of weather cycles, but the challenging part is there have been a lot of warm-up cycles in-between. She said as of Feb. 3, the resort had reported 104 inches of snow so far this year, which is pretty much average. “There have been more sunny days than normal, which is nice, and the temperatures have been a little above normal,” she said. “The benefit is beginners are more likely to come out and go skiing
LIVE MUSIC
when it’s a little bit warmer.” According to Eshbaugh, Holiday Valley has a really good base down on the slopes and there is still plenty of snow. She said the resort has an amazing snowmaking system. They can turn it on all at once so anytime it’s cold, they can take advantage of it quickly. “Just convincing people that there is snow here (at Holiday Valley) is the challenge, although they can look at our webcam online and see that,” she said.
See Snowguns, page 3
Snocross races return to casino for 8th year next weekend
6600 US-219, Ellicottville, NY
Fri - 7 p.m. • Rusty Nickel Sat - 6:30 p.m. • High Noon
DJ AFTER BANDS
Fri • Allstarr Sat • Allstarr 20 Monroe St • 699-4162
UPCOMING EVENTS Feb. 21 -22
Winter Music Jam
Feb. 21
Ellicottville Rotary Ski Day at HoliMont
Feb. 22
Feb. 28
Telestock Day 2020 at Holiday Valley
Feb. 29
Penguin Paddle at Holiday Valley
March 14-15
Mardi Gras Parade Times file photo A pro snowmobiler races around a bend during the 2019 AMSOIL Championship Snocross National at the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino. This year’s event is Feb. 21 and 22 at the casino.
Open for Lunch & Dinner Serving Cocktails & Beer
Patio NOW OPEN!
Cocktail Flights
See Snocross Races, page 8
26 Washington St, Ellicottville, NY
Fat Bike Race at HoliMont
Just a few blocks east of downtown Ellicottville
Whether there’s snow, sleet or rain — a foot of the white stuff or widespread puddles in mild temperatures — nothing can stop the pro snowmobile races from coming to town. Thousands of snowmobilers and winter sports fans alike will gather next Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22 at the Seneca Allegany Resort and Casino for the return of the AMSOIL Championship Snocross National for the eighth consecutive year in Salamanca. So far, things are on schedule for another successful year, said Linda
Hitchcock, General Manager at the casino. She said last year’s event saw over 15,000 attendees. “The warm weather this season has revamped our snowmaking process,” she said. “We usually have more snow than we need by this point. However, they do have a plan in place to make this event happen.” Preparations begin right after the previous year’s event wraps up, Hitchcock said. After a post-con to address any issues, the casino’s team begins blocking for the next event. “Food and Beverage is busy
716-699-2042
By Kellen M. Quigley
Thur - 8pm • Kody & Herren Fri - 9pm • Live & kickin’ Sat - 2pm • Terry Savastano 8pm • West Tue - 7pm • The Hick Ups Wed - 8pm • Joe Wagner & Co
6600 RTE 219, ELLICOTTVILLE, NY • WWW.STEELBOUNDEVL.COM
March 28
Pond Skimming Party at HV