With only two months left before the first ever Niagara Homecoming event, organizers are expanding their attempts to spread the word to all invitees.

After all, there’s about 50,000 of them out there.

The four-day event beginning June 25 will offer numerous activities in hopes of luring former residents to not only visit Niagara Falls but reconsider it as their permanent home. From a job fair and entrepreneurial opportunities to wine tastings and sporting events to a festival on Main Street, Niagara Homecoming will highlight the area’s best and serve as a citywide reunion. It’s also coinciding with the annual Buffalo Homecoming which attracts upwards of 10,000 visitors.

“For anyone coming home that weekend, there will be all kinds of activities to do,” said Frank Thomas Croisdale, one of the founders of Niagara Rises which is hosting the Falls event. “Our intent is to make this the signature event the city is looking for and have it grow more every year.”

An estimated 50,000 people have left the city over the past five decades. Niagara Homecoming organizers are implementing a variety of ways to invite them back home, including a Web site (www.niagarahomecoming.com) that will be launched in the next couple of days and allow people to register and provide information about when they left the city and where they’re living now. In addition, thousands of postcards will soon be made available allowing residents to send personal invitations to out-of-town relatives, Croisdale added.

Once people return for the homecoming, Croisdale is hoping the blast from the past and positive opportunities here will convince them to stay, or at least visit more often. In Buffalo, close to 400 families have relocated over the past three years after attending its homecoming event, organizers have estimated.

The Niagara Falls Tourism Advisory Board offered its support of Niagara Homecoming at Monday’s meeting and discussions with the city for financial assistance have already started. While he agreed it was a good idea, tourism board member Vince Catanzaro questioned how effective the city could be in convincing people to move back.

“If they do come back here, how are they going to make a living?” he asked.

Croisdale pointed out the event will include a large job fair and real estate tours. He conceded pay rates locally may not surpass other areas but the cost of living here is also cheaper. As a result, Niagara Falls is a good place to ride out the recession, he added.

Along with the job fair, one of the main draws of Niagara Homecoming will be the Positively Main Street festival on June 27 and 28. Now in its second year, the festival will highlight the area’s best food and entertainment.

Tourism Board Chairman Jerry Genova said Niagara Homecoming is exactly the type of initiative city officials have to rally behind, even if it doesn’t amount to many people moving back.

“At the very minimum, maybe it’s that one week every year where they can come home,” Genova said. “It’s the one thing we’ve never really tried.”



On the Web

To learn more about Niagara Homecoming or for a list of scheduled events, visit www.niagarahomecoming.com or www.niagararises.com