Festival Event 
Annual Candy Dance
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Photo © Lynne Bowersock
Event Dates: September 29, 2012 - September 30, 2012
For over 90 years, the Annual Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Faire has been held on the last Saturday and Sunday of September in Genoa, Nevada. The Faire featured over 350 arts and craft exhibitors and food vendors, plus 4000 pounds of Genoa’s famous homemade candy. A new addition this year was the Genoa Western Art Gallery (located in the Teig Building, 2285 Main Street), which hosted some of the finest western artists. Admission to the Faire is free. The festival also features a Candy Dance Dinner Dance at the Genoa Town Park, and lots of cowboys who share stories about the Wild West.
The first Candy Dance was organized in 1919 by Genoa resident, Lillian Virgin Finnegan, to raise money to purchase street lights for the town. The dance was held at the Raycraft Hotel, and Lillian and other Genoa women made candy to serve at the dance. In the years that followed, the annual Candy Dance continued as a way to raise money to pay the town’s electric bill for the street lights, and was considered the “Big Event of the Season” by people in the Carson Valley, Reno and surrounding communities. The Arts and Crafts Faire was added in the 1970s and, later, became the two-day event that continues today. The funds raised by the Town of Genoa during the Candy Dance weekend provide a substantial portion of the town’s annual budget.
The designated Candy Dance parking lots are near these road closure locations. Parking is $5 per vehicle. Free shuttles to and from Genoa are provided at these parking lots. Parking for vendors and Candy Dance volunteers is free. Overnight dry camping is available in the Genoa Lane Parking Lot for two nights at $35/night. Additional vehicles with overnight dry camping are $5 each. Free parking is also available at Douglas High School and the Carson Valley Inn in Minden. Shuttle service to and from Genoa is available at these locations for $2/person.
For more information about the Annual Genoa Candy Dance Arts and Crafts Faire, contact the Genoa Town Offices at 775-782-8696.
Admission Fee (if any): $5 Parking - Entrance Fee
Ages Festival is Appropriate For: All
ADA Accessibility NotesThis is a historic district with dirt roads.
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Cherylann Schimmelfennig wrote on August 27, 2010: Lillian Virgin Finnegan should be so proud that her simple idea has continued for 90 years and has grown to be a 2 day event! For a group of people to come together and to give of themselves to put on a fundraiser...or any event for that matter, is quite a feat in itself. But to do so continuously for 90 years is simply amazing! Lillian Virgin Finnegan is a woman to be revered. She has truly inspired a small community to do great things! I would be proud to be a part of this community.
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