For those living in and around Geneva, the annual Christmas Walk in the city is a sign that the holiday season has truly arrived.
Susan Jones of Geneva was one of thousands who took part in the city’s special event on Friday. She and her daughter Emma Jones began the evening by lining up just off of Third Street for the house walk that awaited them.
“We try to come annually. My husband grew up in Geneva and we’ve been longtime residents,” Susan Jones said as she waited in mild temperatures but a drizzling rain. “This is part of living in Geneva. I moved up here in 1987 and I feel like the town really rallies around things. My husband and I moved away a couple of times because of his job and we never felt like we had the sense of community like there is here.”
The event in Geneva included everything from a holiday house tour and the 40th annual cookie walk to photos with Santa, the community tree-lighting and the ever-popular Candy Cane Parade.
Geneva Chamber of Commerce Communications Director Laura Rush said the Chamber of Commerce has been organizing the holiday event since 1946.
“Our merchants are open late and many of them have special events in their stores,” she said before the fest. “The parade will take place, the tree will be lit and Santa will arrive. We don’t mess with tradition and we keep what people like. For most people this starts off their holiday season with our Christmas Walk.”
Despite the rainy weather, Third Street was clearly filling up as darkness fell and visitors with and without umbrellas moved in and out of stores, waited for the parade or met up with friends.
Emma Jones, 25, said “I like to see the community all come out and I think it’s fun when they close down the street.”
“Everybody is walking past each other and it’s easy to see someone you grew up with or went to high school with and have known for a while,” she said. “I love the tradition where they pull candy canes at Graham’s. My sister and I both worked there, so it’s cool. They’ve been doing that forever.”
Mona Terpstra of Batavia came with her grandson Hunter Terpstra, 6, and said she has come to the Christmas Walk many times before.
Terpstra described Geneva as “a great town and Third Street has everything you need.”
She added that Hunter was looking forward to getting some chocolate at Graham’s which was already packed with visitors well before the parade.
Giovina Romandine of Chicago and her boyfriend Brian Hassell stopped by the candy shop during the Christmas Walk.
“We see the tree-lighting and so forth and it’s part of a tradition. This is his (Hassell’s) second year but I’ve been coming out here for 20 years or so,” Romandine said. “I like all the shops here and seeing the tree-lighting and the parade. I always get dressed up for Christmas. I used to take my nieces out here and we’d spend the whole weekend.”
“I love the whole Christmas experience. It’s kind of like a Hallmark movie and I like that kind of stuff. I live my life like it’s a Hallmark movie, so here we go,” Hassell added. “This is definitely part of our early Christmas kick-off.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
