Leaf peepers flock to valley roadways during Columbus Day Weekend
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CONWAY — The colors were out, and so were the leaf peepers throughout Columbus Day Weekend in Mount Washington Valley.
Columbus Day was a week later, but that tended to prolong the fall season an extra weekend, some local attractions and restaurateurs commented. The Fryeburg Fair was held Sept. 29 through Oct. 6, but Columbus Day Weekend and the Sandwich Fair along with the good foliage just past peak added to local business.
The state Division of Travel and Tourism Development reports that traffic through the tolls from Friday through Monday of the Columbus Day Weekend was up nearly 4 percent compared to last year’s holiday weekend. Almost 1.5 million vehicles passed through New Hampshire’s turnpikes over the four- day weekend. Sunday was up around 9 percent over last year.
“It was a great weekend as far as the numbers go, and we were up over last year. But dollar-wise, it wasn’t — not bad, but they weren’t spending as much,” said Terry O’Brien of the Red Parka Pb Steakhouse and Pub Tuesday. “We saw people buying less expensive sandwiches, salads and soups.”
“Same for us,” said Bill Bennett of Maestro’s in a joint interview with fellow Valley Originals restaurateurs at Margarita Grill Tuesday morning. “We actually saw people sharing salads.”
“It wasn’t a record Columbus Day Weekend for us, but it was the busiest of the year,” said Scott Ross of the Moat Mountain Smokehouse.
“It was a very good weekend for us. We have not done the numbers yet to get the whole total, but it was very good,” said Lanette Delaney of Delaney’s Hole-in-the-Wall.
“We did very well. We were short of a record for Saturday by three [meals],” said chef Neal Myers of the Wentworth Resort Hotel.
“It was a strong weekend,” said Genn Ansaldi of the J-Town Deli, which was a report shared by Corrine Rober of Margarita Grill, who noticed that some diners over the summer have opted for their more expensive, fresh squeezed super margaritas.
Downtown North Conway Saturday and Sunday looked very busy, especially on Sunday for the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons’ televised game in the UpBar, which was followed by the broadcast of the Red Sox and Detroit American League Championship Series Game 2. Both Boston teams scored dramatic comebacks to make it Miracle Sunday in Boston sports circles.
Mayne: Business up
Marti Mayne, publicist for the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce, furnished the following quotes from businesspeople that she obtained in an informal survey.
“By all accounts from attractions, retailers, lodging properties and restaurants, leaf peepers from throughout the world flocked to the Valley,” said MWVCC executive director Janice Crawford.
Attitash’s 16th annual Oktoberfest drew a record of nearly 2,200 visitors Saturday, and Sunday’s total was 1,100, which was close to the previous record.
“The last records set were for the 2011 Oktoberfest, but this year’s Saturday at Oktoberfest broke the 2,000 mark, not previously reached for an individual day attendance at any Oktoberfest, with just a little less than 2,200 people partying on that that day alone, followed up by a very strong Sunday attendance number that was just a few folks shy of the individual Sunday record set at the 2011 Oktoberfest,” said Attitash/Wildcat marketing director Thomas Prindle.
This year marked the first year for the Chocorua Community Association’s BYOB Oktoberfest, held Saturday. Committee member the rev Kent Schneider said it was a big success, noting, “It was a sold-out success! We had a wonderful festive, family-friendly event.”
Corn MAiZE steady
Kathy Sherman of Sherman Farm said the Corn MAiZE had a strong weekend, although the weather was cloudy on Saturday and Sunday, which may have impacted attendance.
Friday and Saturday nights in October will feature maize haunted tours, with some new additions which will be revealed at a latter date, according to Sherman. The farm is also planning other events, including a “wear pink” weekend in support of breast cancer awareness, Oct. 19 and 20, along with a scarecrow scavenger hunt.
Other attractions that are continuing weekends for the fall include the Return of the Pumpkin People through Oct. 20, the Conway Scenic Railroad’s Pumpkin Patch Express and foliage rides and Murder MysteryTheater, and Cranmore’s Ghoullog.
“Columbus Day weekend was great for us,” noted marketing director Rebecca Deschenes of Cranmore. “ Visits were up 47 percent for the Mountain Adventure Park, up 27 percent for the aerial adventure, and up 31 percent for the Ghoullog. We had tons of great feedback for the Ghoullog.”
Lodging packed
Lodging reports were also strong, according to Mayne.
Christopher Bellis of the Cranmore Inn in North Conway said, “Columbus Day traffic was higher this year than last year and we were sold out the entire weekend (71 percent occupancy last year vs. 100 percent this year). European travelers were the norm this year with some Americans and Canadians in the mix. Most had reserved early to catch the fall foliage season and this may have prevented some of the Canadian travelers who usually book closer to their date of travel.”
Donna Pearce, of the Admiral Peary Inn of Fryeburg, reported, “Last year I was at 35 percent for the holiday weekend and this year was 100 percent. I had one Canadian couple, three couples from Germany (not together), one couple from England, One from Singapore (on business) all staying anywhere from one to three nights.”
Her comments were echoed by Kevin Flynn, co-owner of Snowvillage Inn in Eaton:
“Snowvillage Inn and restaurant were up for the Columbus Day weekend compared to last year. Both our restaurant and our rooms increased by over 50 percent. Not only did we welcome more Canadians, but international travelers. My guess is the increase is thanks to the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce for going to Canadian travel shows and marketing to international travelers. Being a fine dining restaurant, it is great to have international guests. They enjoy slow dining, eating in courses and relaxing afterwards in our common area. One night we had Brazilians and folks from the UK playing a card game after dinner. Such fun!”
Charlene Brown, of the Farm by the River Stables, North Conway, said, “This year Columbus Day was better than last year in the inn- a longer season, in the stables, it was excellent, with great weather. I think people realize that we are open year round and that besides the horseback riding we do the carriage rides and wagon rides. We have seen more Canadians in the spring and summer— less this fall.”
Foreign business at Settlers’ Green
In an interview Tuesday with The Conway Daily Sun, Dot Seybold, general manager of Settlers’ Green Outlet Village, said the shops were “very. very busy” Saturday and Sunday, with many foreign visitors from locales such as Germany, Japan and Canada. Business was quieter on the holiday on Monday, when the weather was nicer, making it perfect for leaf peeping and other outdoor activities, but still good, she said.
“It’s been fantastic all fall,” said Seybold Tuesday, although she did cast a wary eye toward what may loom ahead, given the budget breakdowns in Washington, D.C. and the debt ceiling deadline crisis.
“It seems like they [the politicians] are doing everything they can to destroy our economy while the rest of us keep working and doing our best to make things better,” said Seybold, exasperated like many Americans with the deliberations and political struggles in Washington during the government shutdown .
Fair sees good attendance
The Sandwich Fair in picturesque Center Sandwich saw good crowds all three days, Oct. 12 through 14. Paid attendance for the three days was 35,444, compared to the record of 39,448 set in 2011. Saturday saw 11,500; Sunday attendance was 15,300, both of which were average figures, and Sunday’s was 8,671, which was nearly a record, according to fair president Dan Peaslee.
“We had a great three days. The weather was great. We honored longtime parade volunteers Pam and Ray Elliott as our grand marshals and we also dedicated a new parade building to the Elliott family.Pam is a longtime volunteer, and Ray is a board member,” said Peaslee.
Leaf peepers flock to valley roadways during Columbus Day Weekend
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