Deal worked out for single permit for Candy Dance

It wasn't pretty and it took nearly two hours to complete, but Genoans hammered out a deal on Jan. 6 that will allow the 2009 Candy Dance to go forward under one permit.

The Genoa Town Board approved an agreement with Phil Stoll and Martha Williams in which they would participate in developing jurying standards for Candy Dance and apply those standards to their vendors.

After town board members accepted an agreement signed by Gilles La Gourgue, the negotiations focused on independent festivals operated by Stoll and Williams over Candy Dance weekend.

Williams' Peddler's Fair located on the southern boundary of Genoa leases out 44 booths according to a breakdown prepared by the town. Stoll's Autumn Festival is located inside the town along Genoa Lane. She said she had 65 booths.

Town board member Dave Whitgob acknowleged the businesses' right to hold their own festivals the same weekend as Candy Dance.

"To say the town counts on this event is an understatement," he said. "To say that the county counts on the town not to rely on county taxpayers to make up the difference is also an understatement."

However, Whitgob said, Candy Dance's reputation has diminished over the years, partially because of the influx of nonhandcrafted material.

"The bloom is off the rose," he said. "We have volunteers who work their tails off asking why we have different standards for the different festivals."

Both Williams and Stoll resisted permitting the town committee to maintain the quality of their crafters.

"Phil's fear is that if we agree to jurying by the town, there's a chance the town will veto the entire event," said her husband, Tim Stoll.

Both woman agreed to pay $26.72 per booth to come under the town's permit, but timing of the payment was an issue. Williams agreed to pay for half of her 44 booths by Jan. 15 and the balance within 30 days after the event.

Town Manager Sheryl Gonzales said the town would be required to pay $9,289 in fees up front. The money from the business owners would eventually defray $3,847 of the town's permit costs.

Candy Dance is the main fundraiser for Nevada's oldest settlement, providing the lion's share of the revenue that supports the town during the course of the year. In 2008, it raised nearly $160,000 for the town. Funds raised at Candy Dance account for 61 percent of the town's revenues. Paying for Candy Dance accounts for 30 percent of the town's expenses.

The event dates back to 1919, when it was an actual dance where townspeople sold candy to raise money for streetlights.

In the early 1970s, a crafts fair was added to pay for recreation in the town. The fair took over as the main fund-raiser with booth rentals providing most of the money. As the fair grew in size, town businesses started selling their own booths.

Over the years, the town has tried several methods of stopping businesses from setting up competing fairs.