In the village of Genoa, southeast of Toledo….
…you will find a beautiful historic town hall and civic theater…
…a quaint downtown…
…with some fine eateries…
…some rather well-known pottery…
…and, if you timed it just right…
…a village festival.
The Genoa Homecoming had all the basic staples of a town festival, including….
…rides…
…games…
…an inflatable…
…and plenty of food.
And, for a village this size, it even had some extra perks…
…such as a beer tent…
…and some good ole-fashioned gambling…
…the perfect combo!
But there was still a little that this festival lacked.
First off, the village’s website advertised a “theme” to this year’s Homecoming, which turned out to be “Classic Movies and TV.”
This theme (or any theme, really) was nowhere to be found via images, decorations or even festival discussion.
Secondly, I was seriously concerned with the festival layout…
…which was oddly scattered throughout the downtown.
On E. 6th Street, for example, the beer tent closes off the street to make you believe the festival only consisted of hamburgers, Kiwanis fries, gambling and beer. But once I squeezed past the tent, I found more food vendors, some rides and games.
Although the tent placement wasn’t that big of an issue, I did scratch my head as I walked through downtown…
…and noticed the stage/gazebo pocketed between the buildings…
…and even more food vendors hidden on the other side of the block.
Did they do something wrong or pay a cheaper booth rate?Of course, I understand that the village probably wanted people to explore a bit….
…in order to help local store business.
But I think something could have been done via signs or markers to help festival goers know where to wander.
Fortunately for us, Julia and I are already rather experienced explorers, which is how we easily found a great lunch at downtown Genoa’s R Cafe…
…thanks to a delicious cheeseburger…
…and a decadent Tollhouse* Pie to go.
*as in chocolate chip cookie.
Yum!