The Hamilton Chamber of Commerce hosted its first annual Lebanon Street Pie Walk and Fall Fair on Saturday, Oct. 5 from 3 to 6 p.m. to feature the village’s businesses and celebrate the season. With help from Hamilton’s police department, public works, fire department and village government, the Chamber of Commerce closed a portion of Lebanon St. off from traffic for the duration of the pedestrian-only event.
The Fall Fair featured festive games, like SWANK by Design’s pumpkin bowling, street-wide hopscotch, candy corn relays, Good Nature Brewing’s mummy wrap and an apple bucket challenge, where winners could win fall-themed prizes and coupons from the participating businesses. Other local businesses hosted promotional pop-ups, including a massage table from Chikako’s Massage Studio, free flowers from Eagle River Realty and a sundae station by Maxwell’s Chocolates and Ice Cream.
The idea and planning for the Fall Fair came from Britty O’Connor ’12, MA’13, the president of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce and owner of Flour & Salt and Martha’s on Madison. O’Connor first got involved by taking over the Hamilton Business Alliance’s operations in late 2022, eventually transforming the organization into the chamber, which launched in January 2023. Now, with this new event, O’Connor and her committee at the chamber intend to start an annual tradition for the village, especially for Hamilton’s families with young children.
“We just tried to reimagine how to do a seasonal event for the chamber that would promote more interaction with our local businesses,” O’Connor said. “I wanted there to be something wholesome and fun for the town of Hamilton and its families this fall. I was a ‘Gilmore Girls’ kid, so I wanted to bring that small-town charm to Lebanon St.”
O’Connor and the chamber relied on support and engagement from a variety of local businesses, not only in the village of Hamilton but in the surrounding area, as well. Among these participants was the Colgate Bookstore, which hosted a cornhole station with coupons for its winners. Colgate Bookstore Director Tammy Ayers helped promote the event on the store’s Facebook page and was excited to join the village and Colgate on Saturday.
“I am personally excited about bringing the community together for an event right in the middle of town surrounded by other village businesses working together,” Ayers said. “I believe the excitement will encourage us to explore other events perfect for this location.”
Ayers and her mother donated a homemade pie for the fair’s main act: the pie walk. Local businesses and community leaders came together to bake 34 pies for the competition, including Hamilton Mayor RuthAnn Loveless’ strawberry rhubarb pie and Flour and Salt’s salted maple-bourbon pecan pie. For $10 each, 34 participants competed for their top choice pies by walking along a circle of numbered chalk-drawn squares. In a musical chairs fashion, Syracuse-based band Clove performed a variety of fall-favorite covers, pausing for each winner. Senior Meg McClenahan got her ticket for the pie walk before they quickly sold out.
“The pie walk was such an amazing way to join the different communities of Hamilton — from Colgate students, faculty and staff to the local families of the village,” McClenahan said. “I also got the pumpkin pie I wanted.”
Beyond the pie walk, participating businesses hosted games as part of the event’s bingo card challenge. For the chance to win coupons, attendees used pumpkin stickers to check off tasks like “Make a Scarecrow at Shol’s Boutique,” “Eat a Cider Donut” and “Try Out a Village Clay Pottery Wheel.”
Senior Ella Cassulo, who works at the Village Clay studio, helped to host the clay painting and wheel station and expressed appreciation for the support from other businesses in Hamilton who helped set up outdoor utilities for each pop-up.
“We had a lot of help from the business owners on [Lebanon St.] in getting set up since they were all so happy to see the fair happen,” Cassulo said. “I was talking to one of our co-owners, Krisa [Verbitsky], afterward about how this event was a great way for people to be reminded of small businesses in town, because at least [Village Clay] feels more hidden.”
Colgate University senior Jack Hyams noted how the variety of events helped merge Hamilton’s different communities, even giving him a chance to spend time with his Sidekicks mentee as part of the University club that pairs students with local elementary-age children.
“Students and community members were all there to participate in great activities like pumpkin bowling and the pie walk,” Hyams said. “I had the opportunity to see my Sidekick outside of our usual hangouts, which made me think about how lucky we are to go to school in such a small, close-knit community that hosts events like these where you can just run into people you know.”
Echoing these statements, O’Connor expressed her gratitude following the fair on Saturday and attributed the event’s success to outstanding turnout, good weather and the help of local businesses.
“Thank you to the community members who attended,” O’Connor said in an Instagram post on Oct. 5. “Over 300 people walked through our little downtown today and shopped local. Some even won a pie! What a smash. I love this town.”
In detailing who stopped by, O’Connor explained why the integration of the community of Hamilton is so important for its local development and commerce.
“Playing mummy wrap with the general manager of [Good Nature Brewery] gives community members an entirely different experience of this person who runs a business in their town,” O’Connor said. “It humanizes them and creates a connection that is invaluable for our business owners.”
Noting the chamber’s success this summer with seasonal events, including its Chamber 5K on June 22 and Supper Under the Stars on Aug. 14, O’Connor shared that the chamber will continue to plan events that bring Colgate, the village of Hamilton and central New York’s local businesses together. Given the successful turnout on Saturday, the chamber is excited to maintain this new tradition next fall.