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TIMES
VOLUME 9 ISSUE 11
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
Celebrate the season at Ellicottville’s Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival weekend By Deb Everts Celebrate the last days of the ski season at Ellicottville’s annual Mardi Gras and Winter Carnival weekend, March 14-15. There is plenty of family fun downtown and on the slopes at Holiday Valley all weekend. On Saturday night, the annual Mardi Gras Parade will be featured in the village. The parade is planned to have fantastic floats with marchers and spectators alike wearing their zaniest costumes. Barb Pump, project development manager for the Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce, said parade participants should start lining up by Katy’s Café on Washington Street and be ready by 6 p.m. because the parade officially begins at 6:30 p.m. To help celebrate the Town of Ellicottville’s 200th birthday this year, Pump said the Mardi Gras Parade will be led by the group organizing the bicentennial. She said “Bicentennial” will be the float theme. For more information on the parade, call Pump at (716) 699-5046. Holiday Valley’s Winter Carnival will feature fun activities and events for the whole family, both Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Marketing Director Jane Eshbaugh said the biggest winter event of the season has been going on for over 50 years, and all the main events people have enjoyed in the past will be back again. “The carnival is the kickoff of the Town of Ellicottville’s Bicentennial Celebration,” she said. “There will be a historical display upstairs in the
See Mardi Gras, page 7
Times file photo Participants in the Costume Parade at Holiday Valley proceed down Mardi Gras Slope and are judged at the bottom. Winners, an adult and a child, will receive a season pass for next year.
Ellicottville’s first bicentennial event to kick-off at Winter Carnival
LIVE MUSIC
By Deb Everts
Photo courtesy Ellicottville Historical Society In 1957, members of the Ellicottville Ski Club purchased 30 acres of land and formed privately held Win-Sum Ski Corporation and Holiday Valley. The first Town of Ellicottville Bicentennial event is this weekend at Holiday Vally’s Winter Carnival.
The official kick-off of the Town of Ellicottville Bicentennial celebration will take place March 14 and 15 during the Mardi Gras event in the village and Holiday Valley’s Winter Carnival. The annual two-day event will include the first bicentennial event of the year starting with the annual Mardi Gras Parade in the village on Saturday evening. With “Bicentennial” the theme, the parade will feature floats and marching units. Parade participants should start lining up by Katy’s Café on Washington Street and be ready by 6 p.m. because the parade officially begins at 6:30 p.m. Marchers are encouraged to dress in period costume. More bicentennial events will take place
See Bicentennial, page 2
Family tradition continues in Ellicottville with Rafi’s Platter by Amber
By Deb Everts
6600 US-219, Ellicottville, NY
Fri - 7 p.m. • Breakaway Sat - 4:30p.m. • Cats on Holiday
DJ AFTER BANDS
Fri • Allstarrs Sat • Allstarrs 20 Monroe St • 699-4162
UPCOMING EVENTS March 14 & 15
Winter Carnival & Mardi Gras Weekend
March 14 & 15 Ellicottville Bicentennial Celebration
March 28
April 13
Ellicottville Bicentennial Birthday
April 24
Remembrance Weekend at Holiday Valley
Photo by Deb Everts Amber Rafi-Sultan poses in the reception area of her new Ellicottville restaurant, Rafi’s Platter by Amber, that she co-owns with her husband, Aamir Sultan. The couple has branched out and added the second location to their present restaurant business, Rafi’s Platter in Olean.
Open for Lunch & Dinner Serving Cocktails & Beer
Patio NOW OPEN!
Cocktail Flights
716-699-2042
See Rafi’s Platter, page 8
26 Washington St, Ellicottville, NY
Pond Skimming Party at Holiday Valley
Just a few blocks east of downtown Ellicottville
A new eatery bringing multi-cultural cuisine to Ellicottville has opened in the village. Rafi’s Platter by Amber is located in the space once occupied by the former Tips Up Café at 32 Washington St. Co-owners Amber Rafi-Sultan and her husband, Aamir Sultan, along with their staff are excited to open a second location in Ellicottville. RafiSultan said they decided to open a second restaurant and chose Ellicottville for the location back in early November. They were just waiting to find the right business space. “I hope to create a fun, multicultural atmosphere to give people more cultural exposure. People come to Ellicottville from all over, so a multicultural atmosphere is what’s missing here (Ellicottville),” she said. “I’m very
Thur - 8pm • Kody & Herren Fri - 9pm • 2 Guys Drinkin’ Beer Sat - 2pm • Tim Bartlett Acoustic 8pm • Live & Kickin Sun 8pm • 2 Guyd Drinkin’ Beer Mon 7pm • The O’Hick Ups Tue 8pm • Rickie Franktz & Eric Mehok Wed 8pm • Joe Wagner & Co
6600 RTE 219, ELLICOTTVILLE, NY • WWW.STEELBOUNDEVL.COM
May 9
Happy Half Marathon