Over 40 Years of Beautification
Over 40 Years of Beautification
The Alley Katz Continue to ‘Dress Up’ Ellicottville, Even During the Winter Months
Ellicottville, the quaint ski town known for its hallmark views, doesn’t just wake up looking this good. It takes so many here that work around the clock to achieve the aesthetic and experience we want visitors to take in. At the heart of this is a team of ladies who call themselves the Alley Katz, bringing life with their flower displays to the village since 1979.
It all started when a group of women took to cleaning the alleyway between the 1887 Building & The Banq Cocktail Lounge (formerly M&T Bank). In this initial clean-up they got rid of an entire dump truck of debris and garbage. “Someone commented on their resemblance to a bunch of cats digging through the trash, and the ‘Alley Katz’ were born,” quoted from Lynn Timon’s 1998 news article.
Each year 44 barrels of flowers and 50 hanging baskets are put out on display, along with hand planting the creek beds and flower beds by Katys Cafe, the clock tower, War Memorial, the Alley Katz circular garden by the gazebo, and of course decorating the iconic gazebo itself. Over the years the gazebo has provided the backdrop for weddings, prom photos, family portraits and more.
The Alley Katz just changed over to winter decor from the fall setting that has become a must-see when ‘leaf peeping’. The winter tree will be on display until Mardi Gras weekend when the AKs will be prepping for the new 2023 spring display. This will be the FIRST year with a spring display. To me this signifies that Ellicottville is officially a four-season destination.
In years past, the ladies would utilize a greenhouse to grow all of the baskets personally. Now, “Waterman’s Nursery in Springville designs our beautiful baskets,” Deb Yantomasi, leader of this awesome group tells me. “A small portion of our funding comes from the town and village, but we rely mainly on donations.” The ladies meet every Tuesday Spring to Fall to plan, plant and maintain, and afterwards they head to Ellicottville Coffee Co. for their on-the-house cup-o-joe. “A big shout out to the DPW and Dave Dixon who water all the plants 5-6x per week to keep them looking good all summer long!”
This is a small group of 15-25 ladies whose average age hits in the 60s, which lead us into the next part of our conversation. “We need more volunteers who are going to learn about this great group and help continue it into the future,” Deb proclaimed.
They plan to expand their gardening expertise, in 2023, to the Episcopal Church that makes up 1/4 of our historic four corners. The event will be held in the spring where Yantomasi hopes volunteers will show up with hostas, ferns and black eyed Susans from their own gardens to plant. The Alley Katz will, of course, be on-hand, helping to design a beautiful garden made up of pieces of our community.
The AKs are now online; you can follow them on Facebook and Instagram @AlleyKatzofEllicottvilleInc. They are also a registered 501(c)(3) organization. You can donate by sending a check to Alley Katz of Ellicottville Inc., PO Box 1407, Ellicottville, NY 14731
For over 40 years the Alley Katz have operated by the motto, “For a Beautiful Ellicottville,” and they sure do add to that je ne sais quois to our downtown offers. If you are new to the area or here just for the season, reach out to see how you can help!
