Genoa was crammed with happy shoppers at this year’s Candy Dance fair. Photo by Kurt Hildebrand.There were big dogs and little dogs. I saw a brown Great Dane at one end of town and a tiny black and white chihuahua at the other, even though a sign on a telephone pole said No Dogs. The pets were well-behaved and obviously having fun.

The human visitors were, too. It was Genoa’s 89th annual Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Fair, and the streets were packed. Parking was located about a half mile from the fair, but that didn’t matter: You could catch a ride on a tractor-driven trolley or an air-conditioned bus for the short ride into the center of Genoa.

We walked to the festivities from our home about a mile north of town. Cars were parked on both sides of Jacks Valley Road for over a mile. As we headed in, people streamed out carrying bags and pushing carts with their booty. Happy shoppers toted fanciful metal yard ornaments, framed artwork and photographs, home decorations, and, of course, candy…

Continued...

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...

Continued...

Even though organizers of the annual Genoa Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Faire expected fewer people this year, the 88-year-old only-in-Nevada celebration was jammed, and some say it was larger than in 2007.

The sleepy little town nestled at the base of the eastern Carson Range normally is so quiet that elderly dogs lie in the street without fear of being run over, and deer wander through gardens looking for a juicy flower to eat.

But traffic jammed up and down Genoa Lane, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office closed the right lane of U.S. 395 to slow cars down as they turned onto the main access road to Genoa. Airport mini buses and an open-air trolley pulled by a tractor circled around from the town center to outlying parking lots all day both Saturday and Sunday, September 27 and 28.

Continued...

It’s never too early to begin shopping for the holidays and while you’re at it, treat yourself to some homemade candy at the 88th Annual Genoa Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Faire held the last full weekend of September. The event features more than 300 craft and food vendors offering a variety of unique arts and crafts plus yummy homemade treats.

To kick off the two-day event, the town will host the “Candy Dance Dinner Dance” at the Orchard House in Genoa on September 27 from 4 pm to 10 pm. In addition to enjoying a full course BBQ meal and no-host bar, you’ll be “Candy Dancin” to live entertainment by Dealer’s Choice Band, a country-western band originally from Gardnerville. Tickets can be purchased at the Genoa Town Office but they go fast so get yours now.

The dates for the 88th Annual Candy...

Continued...