Three events happen in September that I have wanted to go and see for years.
They are:
Burning Man around Labor Day in Black Rock City, Nevada (website) and the San Esteban Feast Day (info) at Acoma Pueblo/Sky City in New Mexico on September 2nd.
And one that's coming up this weekend:
The Candy Dance in Genoa, Nevada
According to Genoa's town historian, Billie J. Rightmire :
The Genoa "Candy Dance" originated in 1919 as an effort to raise money to purchase street lights for the small, but enterprising community of Genoa, Nevada's first settlement. Lillian Virgin Finnegan, daughter of then prominent Judge Daniel Webster Virgin, suggested the idea of a dance and making candy to pass around during the dance as an incentive for a good "turn-out" of couples.
With the help of her aunt, Jane Raycraft Campbell, and the female populous of Genoa, delicious samples of candy really made the evening special. Of course, the midnight supper served at the Raycraft Hotel was, as always, a culinary delight. So, if the candy did not entice people to join in the fun, the midnight supper was surely an incentive.
Candy! A midnight supper! Dancing!
I first read about the Candy Dance years ago when I was at the ASU library. I don't completely remember the details, but this is what I do remember: the ASU libraries are pretty awesome. There's the regular library and then there's the Noble Science and Engineering Library , which don't let the not-very-pleasing(okay, downright aesthetically awful) looks of this library dissuade you from searching there, because there is cool stuff there. Those libraries are where I came across Eugene Peterson's commentary on 1st and 2nd Samuel, books about the Salton Sea, Edward Weston's Daybooks (and fell in love with his photography), books about history and tourism in Nevada (which made me want to visit the Hoover Dam and Genoa for the Candy Dance) and an illustrated book about the pigeons of the world.
You have no idea how many different types of pigeons exist on the planet.
At least I didn't.
I remember being so enchanted by the very old book and all its color illustrations of pigeons. And I was so fascinated by the letter-carrying abilities of pigeons that I decided to make these little postcards in my letterpress class at ASU using engraving blocks and letterpress type.
LOL, so I am trying to think of something to tie all this together---pigeons, the Candy Dance in Genoa, Nevada, Edward Weston, awesome (but ugly) libraries, letterpress and carving wood blocks...but dude it's hard to tie this all together. Let me just say that if I could I would get in my car tonight and drive like crazy to Nevada and be in time for candy! and dancing! and a midnight supper!
