SOLD!! Sales statistics for Chautauqua Lake Home Sales will be posted on FAQ page on the website mid January.


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Steve Martin to play Chautauqua in 2011

Sure, you're cold and wet and miserable. Chautauqua Institution aims to cheer you up by thinking summer. The venerable establishment -- soon to be featured in a major PBS documentary -- has added some pretty good shows for its 2011 lineup: Steve Martin, Natalie Merchant, Clint Black, and Anna Deavere Smith. Martin and his Steep Canyon Rangers will perform "An Evening of Bluegrass & Banjo" on July 1 at 8:15 p.m. Yes, Martin is a gifted musician as well as comic and actor. He won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2009 for "The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo." He'll tour in 2011 with North Carolina's Steep Canyon Rangers. Tickets will be $39. Also, Natalie Merchant returns home to play the amphitheater with a 28-member orchestra on July 8. Of course, she got her started in Jamestown, N.Y. with 10,000 Maniacs. Her latest project, "Leave Your Sleep," debuted at No. 17 on Billboard's Top 200. Tickets for that show will also be $39. Country star Clint Black is also confirmed for Chautauqua; he plays on Aug. 12. Black debuted in "Killin' Time" in 1989 and has been killing audiences ever since. Before country veered toward pop, he played with a sense of tradition and respect. Actress, playwright and MacArthur "genius" fellowship recipient Smith will perform on Aug. 8. She's best known for plays, done in a documentary, theater style, that feature multiple, diverse characters -- all played by Smith. She's the "ultimate impressionist," says the New York Times. "She does people's souls." Tickets for amphitheater specials, including previously announced shows with Bill Cosby (Aug. 27) and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir (June 25) will go on sale March 7, 2011. The PBS special, by the way, is titled "Chautauqua: An American Narrative" and will debut on Jan. 31 on PBS. The bulk of it was filmed during Chautauqua's 2009 season and includes interviews with Sandra Day O'Connor, David McCullough, pianist Alexander Gavrylyuk (who returns July 13), and Chautauqua leader Tom Becker, among others. Erie Insurance, by the way, was one of the sponsors for the documentary, that was filmed by Buffalo PBS station WNED. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: http://www.chautauqualakehomes.com/

Holiday Valley opening kicks off WNY ski season

By: Nicki Mayo All the lake effect snow over the past week is good news for skiers who got to hit the slopes for the first time this winter at Holiday Valley. YNN's Nicki Mayo takes us to opening day at the Ellicottville resort. ELLICOTTVILLE, N.Y. -- Lockport students Zach Pietrzykowski and Zack Kibler skipped class to hop on the slopes at Holliday Valley Ski Resort. "I told my mom that I'm skipping school for the first day. This is my first day here on the opening day, so I'm stoked," said Pietrzykowski. "We just love riding so first day open, why not come!," Kibler added. The Niagara County teens are among the hundreds of Western New York skiers hitting the slopes for the new season. "I think the snow conditions are fabulous for opening day. It's the most snow we've seen in years" said Chris Tew. More than a half-million skiers visit Holiday Valley each year. "We have three lifts open, about 10 slopes so it's just going to get better from here on," said Holiday Valley Marketing Director Jane Eshbaugh. "It's been a great opening because of all this beautiful snow they we've had. The weather has been cold we've been able to make some snow," Esbaugh added. The snow guns have been pumping out snow since Thanksgiving. The area has seen more than a foot of lake effect snow in the past week. "The lake effect snow that we get makes skiing so much fun. It makes it soft and pretty," said Esbaugh. "It's a little icy in patches underneath, but this new snow is going to make a big, big difference," Tew added. Holiday Valley and Kissing Bridge are among the Western New York ski resorts opening this week. More skiers hitting the slopes can mean more shoppers heading into local stores. "When ski season starts, it's a huge economic impact to the area. It's not just Ellicottville; it's the entire county of Cattaraugus," said Ellicottville Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Brian McFadden. "It's exciting. There's all this pent up energy from October and November. Although we have a great summer time and fall here. Everybody wants that ski season to start," McFadden added. The Chamber has 400 business members. Forty-five of them provide lodging, a third of those are in Ellicottville. "So we send them out to everywhere around the county. So ski season is important to a big area," McFadden said. There are more than 120 ski trails between Holiday Valley and Holimont ski resorts. "Oh my gosh, it's awesome already. If you find the lines, it's really good skiing out there," said Laura Kohler of Ellicottville. She advises rookies to play it safe on the slopes. "Take it easy, it's the beginning of the season, you got a whole season to go," Kohler added. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: www.chautauqualakehomes.com

Holiday Valley's 54th winter season

Holiday Valley's 54th winter season will begin on Tuesday, December 7 at 9:00AM. Three lifts and four slopes will be open on Tuesday and more terrain will open as the resort continues to make snow and receive natural snow. Snowmaking began on November 26 and has operated as temperatures permitted. The resort has received more than 10 inches of snow over the past 5 days. The forecast for the Ellicottville area is for night time temperatures in the teens and low 20's which is ideal weather for snowmaking. Lake effect snow and snow showers are also predicted through the week. Holiday Valley targets full operation of all 58 slopes and 13 lifts on or before the Christmas holiday starting December 25. For more information on Chautauqua Lake Real Estate & Living visit: http://www.chautauqualakehomes.com/