We won’t fudge the facts: one of Nevada’s oldest September events is the sweetest.
Over the years, the picturesque town of Genoa, 40 miles south of Reno, has turned a simple candy sale at a community dance into a lively weekend festival. The idea originated 90 years ago in 1919 as a way to raise money to buy streetlights, and when it succeeded, the townsfolk staged the event annually to pay the lighting bills.
The Genoa Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Faire will fill the downtown streets of Nevada’s oldest permanent settlement Sept. 26-27 with a festival of creative goods, music, food and drink and, of course, trays of famous homemade candy that gave the event its name.
The festival is from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. both weekend days and Saturday night, the popular band David John and the Comstock Cowboys and country singer Lacy J. Dalton will perform at the 2009 Candy Dance Dinner and Dance. Dinner starts at 5 p.m. and dancing at 6:30 p.m. at Genoa Town Park on Nixon Street. Dinner dance tickets are available by calling 775-782-8696 or online at www.genoanevada.org.
Candy Dance is easy to find in historic Genoa, Nevada’s oldest permanent settlement, which is only three blocks long with one main street. Visitors will find booths selling clothing, jewelry, arts and crafts of all kinds, along with food and drink to suit every taste. Parking is best on Genoa Lane, which leads into town from U.S. Highway 395.
Genoa, which began in 1851 as a Mormon trading post, is nestled against the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the pastoral Carson Valley just west of U.S. Highway 395. Besides being the oldest permanent settlement, Genoa is home to the oldest saloon, right in the center of town. Lodging in Genoa or nearby Minden and Gardnerville on U.S. 395 includes hotels, inns, motels, B&Bs, RV parks and more. Visit the Carson Valley Visitors Authority online at www.visitcarsonvalley.org or call toll-free 800-727-7677. (Locally, it’s 775-782-8144)
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