Ellicottville's Fall Festival runs Saturday, October 10 and Sunday, October 11, 2026. The village turns four blocks of its streets into an arts and crafts show, and Holiday Valley runs its chairlifts to a hilltop party with live music at the top of Mardi Gras. The Chamber of Commerce calls it the village's largest event of the year, and it lands in the week the hills usually peak.
The short version. Crafts and vendors run 10am to 5pm both days in the village. The chairlift at Holiday Valley runs noon to 4pm with a band at the top. Saturday lift tickets are $15 if you buy online by Friday night and $20 at the window. Park once at 55-57 Jefferson Street for $20, leave the dog at home, and don't carry a drink onto the street.
What's happening in the village
Four blocks of the village become a walkable arts and crafts show, open 10am to 5pm on both Saturday and Sunday. The village's own shops are part of it too, and the food court runs longer than the crafts: 10am to 10pm Saturday and 10am to 5pm Sunday. It sits near the corner of Jefferson and Washington, and there's an ATM beside it.
Official Fall Festival merchandise is sold at the info booth on Washington Street near the Gin Mill. The Chamber says it will post the full entertainment schedule once it's final, so check its site the week before.
If you're hungry before or after the crowds, our Ellicottville restaurant directory lists the dining rooms and bars in the village.
Chairlift rides and music at Holiday Valley
Holiday Valley runs the Mardi Gras 6 Express from noon to 4pm both days. At the top there's food, drinks and a live band, and on a clear day the view takes in the valley at or near peak color. The Spruce Lake Quad also runs lift rides.
- Saturday lift ticket: $15 online, if you buy before 11:59pm Friday, October 9. $20 on the day at the resort.
- Sunday lift ticket: $12, online or at the ticket window.
- Kids 6 and under ride free.
- Pick up online tickets outside the Customer Service Building, at The Inn, or inside The Tamarack Club. Holiday Valley suggests screenshotting the code when you buy it, in case cell reception is poor once you arrive.
Food and drinks at the top of Mardi Gras are cash only. There's an ATM up there, but it's simpler to arrive with cash.
Music on the hilltop runs noon to 4pm: the Tommy Z Band on Saturday and Porcelain Train on Sunday. Down at the Cabana Bar, Jay McDonnell plays 4 to 7pm on both days.
Dogs, backpacks and coolers aren't allowed on the chairlift. If your dog is with you, the only way up Mardi Gras is on foot, on a leash. Wear shoes you can walk a ski slope in, since plenty of people end up hiking up or down one.
The Mountain Shop sets up an outerwear sale on the Resort Center Plaza, with jackets marked down by as much as 50%: Friday noon to 6pm, Saturday 11am to 5pm, Sunday 11am to 3pm. Holiday Valley logowear isn't part of the sale.
Parking, shuttles and the Route 219 detour
The Chamber's event lot is at 55-57 Jefferson Street, across from the cemetery, for $20. All of that money goes to the school's sports boosters. Parking limits on the village streets are enforced, temporary signs go up for the weekend, and illegally parked cars are towed. Handicap parking is set aside at marked spots on the Chamber's parking map.
A $5-per-ride shuttle connects the village with The Inn at Holiday Valley and Resort Services. By day it picks up at St. Mary's Church on Martha Street, 10am to 7pm Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday night it runs from the corner of Washington and Mill Streets, 7pm to 2am. No alcohol is allowed on the shuttle. Ubers, Lyfts and non-chartered buses can't enter the event area and use set drop-off points.
If your drive uses Route 219, plan for the detour, in effect from 7pm Friday, October 9 until 8pm Sunday, October 11. Flaggers direct traffic along it, and it adds time. Our getting-here guide covers the drive.
The rules that catch first-timers
Ellicottville has an open container law, and it's heavily enforced this weekend. You can't walk out of a bar or restaurant with a drink, or carry one on the village streets. Finish it inside.
The Chamber also asks people not to bring pets. The village is crowded all weekend, and the Chamber says it's simply not a comfortable place for a dog. Public restrooms are marked on the village map, and the medical unit sits behind the police trailer across from Madigan's on Washington Street. The lost and found is at the same police trailer, or you can call 716-699-2120 and leave a message.
Where to stay for Fall Festival
This is the busiest weekend of the Ellicottville fall, so book early. Our where-to-stay guide sorts the slopeside and in-village options, and Holiday Valley sells a lift-and-lodging package for the weekend. If everything nearby is gone, stay further out and plan on the $20 Jefferson Street lot rather than hunting for a spot on Washington Street.
More to do the same weekend
Two other events share Sunday, October 11. HoliMont runs the HoliTrot Fall Festival Trail Run, a kids race at 9:30am and a 5k at 10am that both start with a chairlift ride to the top. At 2pm, American Hawkeye's free Birds of Prey show at Spruce Lake, Holiday Valley is the last of the season. Holiday Valley's annual Fall Scramble off-road run is part of the weekend as well; check the resort for its start time.
The festival usually overlaps peak foliage week, so if you can stay an extra day, get up on a ridge. Our fall foliage hikes guide has five routes and the week-by-week timing. The full list of what's on this fall is on the Ellicottville events calendar.
Our pick: go on Sunday. The crafts show keeps the same 10am to 5pm hours, the lift ticket drops to $12 with no advance deadline, and the Saturday-night crowd has gone home. You give up the food court's late hours and the Saturday night shuttle, and for most families that's an easy trade. If Saturday is the only day you have, buy the lift ticket online by Friday night and save $5.
Locals' tip: try the weekend before or after. Fall Festival brings the biggest crowd of the year, and the weekends on either side are often just as good for color with far fewer people. On October 3 and 4 the ridges are usually turning ahead of the valley, so get up high on one of our foliage hikes. By October 17 and 18 the ridge tops are often past peak, but the valley and the back roads usually still have color, and the oaks hold their rust after the maples drop. Both weekends have Pumpkinville in Great Valley, open daily through October 31, and the Nightmare Hayrides on Friday to Sunday nights through November 1.