Genoa, Nevada's Candy Dance Faire takes place each year on the last full weekend of September. Genoa is Nevada's oldest settlement, established as Mormon Station in 1851. The town's population is approximately 220, but this festival draws hundreds of vendors and thousands of visitors.
The event began in 1921, when Genoa residents sold candy to raise money for street lights. A community dance called the Candy Dance is part of the festivities, along with candy sales, kids' activities and booths where you can buy everything from Baltic Amber to Redneck Bird Feeders.
During our visit this weekend, my husband and I saw a recreation of an Old West Shootout and enjoyed great people-watching at the Candy Dance Faire. The actors in the shootout were collecting money for children with autism, so it was for a wonderful cause.
And it's obvious that the Candy Dance Faire organizers have quite a sense of humor.
My only complaint about this event is that we sat in traffic for almost an hour, after exiting U.S. 395 to enter the town of Genoa. Cars were crawling into the parking area at a snail's pace. Since this is an annual and very popular event, it would seem that someone could find a way to improve traffic flow. (Parking, by the way, was a reasonable $5 per car.)
But aside from the traffic jam, the Candy Dance Faire was a much bigger and more entertaining event than we had anticipated. We'd definitely recommend it to South Reno locals as well as tourists in Northern Nevada. Genoa is just a bit South and West of Carson City. And getting to Carson — from South Reno— is much faster now that there's a new freeway route (I-580 in Washoe County).
For more information about historic Genoa, Nevada and its special events, call (775) 782-8696 or visit http://www.genoanevada.org/ .
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