Candy Dance Arts & Crafts Faire in Historic Genoa

Saturday & Sunday, September 28 & 29, 2024. The 2024 Genoa Candy Dance Faire will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and is FREE for visitors who attend.

A number of special events occur throughout the year in Genoa. None are bigger than the Annual Candy Dance Arts & Crafts Faire which has over 400 arts and crafts, activity, and food vendors draw thousands of people to Genoa during the two-day event.

Attendees of the Genoa Candy Dance certainly experience the cliché “kid in a candy store” feeling at this annual festival; the only difference is that the store is the entire town of Genoa! What started as a fundraising event in 1919 to buy new street lights for the town has become an annual festival full of delicious, locally made candy. Today, hundreds of people come to Genoa to satisfy their sweet tooth while listening to live music.

From South Lake Tahoe, take the Kingsbury Grade (State Route 207) to Foothill Road. Turn left on Foothill and travel north to Genoa. Approximately 19 miles and about a 30-minute drive from South Lake Tahoe. Please check the website for parking and shuttle information.

The Annual Genoa Candy Dance and Faire were originally planned as a dinner and dance in the fall of 1919 by the women of the town to raise money for street lights. The women made candies and cakes to pass around at the dance which was followed by a midnight dinner at the Raycraft Hall, now known as the Genoa Town Hall. The first Candy Dance was quite a success, and the town purchased street lights only to find that the cost of electricity and upkeep on the lights needed additional revenues, which motivated the townspeople to continue holding the Candy Dance as an annual fundraiser.

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