CAZENOVIA — On Oct. 29, the Greater Cazenovia Area Chamber of Commerce (GCACC) celebrated the local community during a special version of its Annual Meeting and Fundraising Dinner.
For this year’s “Spooky Soirée: A Community Celebration,” the chamber’s Caz Life committee replaced the traditional formal sit-down dinner with a “mix and mingle” cocktail party at the Lincklaen House.
The festive evening featured live music by The Jess Novak Band, complimentary tarot readings by Renee Joseph from the Cazenovia Public Library, a photo booth, raffle baskets, a live auction, food stations, and the introduction of the Ezra Greenleaf Weld Community Awards.
Ezra Greenleaf Weld (1801-1874) was a photographer and an operator of a daguerreotype studio in Cazenovia. He and his family were also important figures in the abolitionist movement.
Weld’s legacy is tied closely to the Fugitive Slave Law Convention of 1850, an abolitionist meeting held in Cazenovia on Aug. 21–22, 1850.
The convention was organized in opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act, which mandated that federal marshals actively capture and return escaped slaves to their owners, even in free states, and established significant fines and penalties for individuals who assisted runaway slaves, essentially forcing ordinary citizens to aid in their capture if needed.