Hundreds of vendors gathered in Genoa for the 106th annual Genoa Candy Dance.
Since it's such a big event for the town, candy makers have to get started months in advance.
"Our candy makers start in July," says Erin Pasley, co-chair of candy sales for the Town of Genoa.
Pasley adds the event features "14 varieties this year of different kinds of candy between fudge, toffee, peanut brittle."
Pasley says the candy dance accounts for 70 percent of the town of genoa's budget, and plenty of vendors are happy to support the local economy.
Troy Smith co-owns A Spice Above with his wife Jodi.
They sell dip mixes and offer a "dip-a-thon," where visitors dip pretzel sticks in a variety of dips along their booth. Smith says they started the business in 2013 out of Duck Creek, Utah.
"We meet a lot of people. We do a lot of shows," Smith says, "but this is our best show. And we really love Genoa."
If you're looking for other kinds of sauces, California Balsamic has 55 different vinaigrettes available. It's a small business based in Ukiah.
Co-owner Thomas Allen says he bought the business 29 years ago when it was a small marinade business. He's had a booth at the Candy Dance for 20 years, and started operating his business under the current name shortly after that.
Allen says he takes pride in making his vinaigrettes in small, high-quality batches.
"Only small businesses that make it in four-gallon batches are going to use fresh ingredients," Allen says. "[It's a] pain in the butt, but the quality is outstanding."
There's also plenty of non-food goods available. Ron Almadova turned his 30 years of experience pouring concrete into a candle and table fire pit business he runs with his wife called Rencarie.
He says the business has been successful, even if making concrete candles was harder than he thought.
"I thought, 'just pour some wax and cement. It'll be easy,'" Almadova says. "It took about two-and-a-half to three years to figure everything out."
So even though Candy Dance is the name of the game, there's plenty of great vendors at the event, from a construction worker turned candle maker to a balsamic vinegar place that's been around since the 1990's.
