A local documentary and fireworks over Seneca Lake are among the thrills Geneva City officials and others organized to celebrate a big milestone. The idea started out as being a day of fun, but turned into a week.
“I envisioned a single day that we’d have a program at the Smith Opera House and sing, Happy Birthday,” said Geneva City Counselor Jan Regan. “But so many great ideas came up that we put it into a week.”
The week started on February 25th and ends Saturday.
“We brought back First Friday,” Regan added. “We have music, live in ten different locations, a roving fiddler downtown going into places, and at the historic Dove building, which is recently restored, the Cobweb Game which is a parlor game from 1898. It’s a little bit like Twister, in that you follow strings all throughout a room. We are having 125 people participate for 125 years. If we get them all at once it will be particularly fun to watch. The string is hung up on various things and you’re gonna. Bump into people and twisted with people, and get to the end of the string where a prize awaits you.”
A six-part speaker series and a community mural painting project are also part of the birthday.
“Two local artist sketched out, in pencil, two big murals of historic moments in Geneva,” she said. “Then the community came in. It’s like a paint-by-number thing. That’s where I was yesterday. The artists are there, they give you a little instruction of where to paint. We’ve had little kids do it and adults do it. It’s big, so some people need to be on a ladder and some people are seated. It’s been really great.”
For more details about the celebration click here.
Rebecca is a veteran multimedia journalist serving as one of our core reporters in the Finger Lakes region. She is responsible for telling stories that matter to every day Upstate New Yorkers. Have a question or lead? Send it to [email protected].