Nine miles east of Rochester sits the Village of Fairport: a 900-acre hidden oasis dubbed the “Crown Jewel of the Erie Canal.” Fairport is small in stature with a population of roughly 5,000 residents, but the community—located within the Town of Perinton—packs a punch, holding more than 100 unique festivals and events each year.
Fairport Canal Days, Oktoberfest, and Fairport Musical Festival are among the area’s most popular traditions. Fairport also hosts an annual scarecrow festival, gazebo concerts, and various homages to the winter holidays throughout the month of December.
Nancy Ragus, a Fairport native, has served as the executive director for Fairport Perinton Partnership for a Better Community since 2022. The organization—created to administer grant money—dates back to 2000. Over the past twenty-five years, the local institution has continued to evolve.
The partnership oversees the promotion of economic vitality and development within the Village of Fairport and the Town of Perinton. Ragus manages an executive board comprised of eight community members as well as several committees of volunteers. Together, these movers and shakers preserve and leverage the area’s unique heritage and historic character though efforts in tourism, marketing, recruitment, and design.
“At a high level, we have the local government,” says Ragus. “Then, we have the businesses that keep the community alive. Then, there’s the space in between: It’s what creates the community people love to be in.”
And this is a community that is undoubtedly well loved.
Longtime resident Elly Weinstein says, “We love hiking and biking on the trails [and] canoeing on the canal. We love the quaint town, new restaurants, and friendly people!”
In being an ardent supporter of Fairport, Weinstein is not alone.
Fairport Perinton Partnership for a Better Community hosts a monthly gathering for a group of area architects, engineers, and designers who share their expertise with local businesses free of charge. This is how Fairport Junction—the popular train-viewing platform project initiated in 2006—was designed.
Fairport Perinton Partnership for a Better Community supports the Fairport Perinton Merchant Association, which, in turn, assists the village and the town.
Fairport recently broke ground on a large-scale, collaborative endeavor: the Main Street Enhancement Project. This massive revitalization effort is re-imagining Fairport’s central thoroughfare, adding a number of community fixtures, including benches, bike racks, tree grates, pavement extensions, and botanical features.
Main Street—the village’s primary corridor—boasts an impressive assortment of homegrown stores and restaurants.
Recent additions to the lineup include: Stony Point Art Studio as well as Cloth-n-Mortar and Mescolata, both clothing and home goods boutiques.
Stony Point Art Studio opened its Fairport location in 2024. Jeannine Pelusio, owner and art instructor, felt beckoned to the area by its natural beauty. “Fairport is a destination village with a variety of recreational activities, dining, shops, and more,” states Pelusio.
“The studio aims to foster connection through art, making it a perfect fit within this dynamic village along the Erie Canal,” she says.
The studio—an inclusion partner with Rochester Accessible Adventures and a provider of On the Canals programming—boasts a beautiful gallery space and storefront for artists to display their works on a monthly basis.
“The mission of Stony Point Art Studio is to offer classes and workshops to the community that foster inclusivity and creativity in a space that has been remodeled to be accessible to all,” says Pelusio.
As a whole, Fairport is committed to supporting local accessibility needs.
In addition to housing a portion of the Erie Canal Heritage Corridor’s popular NYS Fiber Trail (a self-guided fiber and yarn tour), Fairport recently defined an Accessibility Trail. Along the path, visitors encounter accessible benches and bathrooms in Perinton Park before heading over to Erie Canal Boat Company. Here, owner Peter Ably finds creative ways for individuals in wheelchairs to kayak on the canal. The nearby train-viewing platform (Fairport Junction), the restaurant (Junction361), and the wetlands (Thomas Creek Wetland Walk) are accessible as well.
Earlier this year, local winery Casa Larga Vineyards collaborated with Iron Smoke Distillery to co-create a delicious port wine. Affair du Chocolat—a specialty chocolate and handmade candy shop on Main Street—also collaborated with the distillery, turning whiskeys into truffles.
At the end of the day, Fairport is a community that supports its own.
“We don’t want local businesses to see each other as competitors,” says Ragus. “We want to show them how to partner.”
This fall, nearby Buffalo will be hosting the World Canal Conference 2025 (WCC2025). People from around the globe attend this annual conference and many visitors arrive by boat.
Following the conference, a handmade replica boat—Seneca Chief—will travel across the state, ending its voyage in New York City. The boat, which sets sail from Buffalo Maritime Center, will spend two nights in Fairport, replicating the path DeWitt Clinton took when he opened the Erie Canal in 1825.
This September gathering will be an opportunity for several boats to meet up (including local favorites Colonial Bell and Corn Hill Navigation’s Sam Patch).
A flotilla will cross from Pittsford into Fairport, culminating in a celebration at Perinton Park. While Fairport already welcomes more than 350 boats each year, the village will offer additional tours and fun activities in light of the event.
“We appreciate the community’s support and volunteerism—we are excited for all of the new things coming up,” says Ragus.
“For more information or to help,” she adds, “stop by our office (Fairport Perinton Partnership for a Better Community) across from the ice cream parlor.”
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2025 issue of (585).
Views: 22
