THE BRIGHT SIDE – Lisa Otto
The 61st Annual Lake Geneva Venetian Festival is almost here.
The fun begins today on August 16th and runs through Sunday August 20th. The five-day festival takes place in Flat Iron Park and Seminary Park, just a short walk up the hill. Flat Iron Park will include carnival rides, games, food, the beer tent and live stage, Seminary Park will have more carnival fun, rides, and food catering to the younger kids. The fun wraps up along the lake shore on Sunday with the annual ski show, lighted boat parade, and the fireworks show. Admission for the carnival is free, the beer tent does have a five-dollar admission fee, however. The Arts and Craft Fair will fill Library Park this Saturday August 19th and Sunday August 20th with one hundred and ten different vendors. The Jaycees Venetian Festival has grown over the years and is the Jaycees biggest revenue generator, allowing the club to give back to the local community in a big way. Get ready to enjoy some great family activities and wrap up the summer season with a bang.
Searching for Geronimo.
The big anthropological dig (which the GSR staff refers to as “Searching for Geronimo) at Hillmoor is not yet funded and changes need to be made. Jason Tish is a Certified Coordinator with the CLG (Certified Local Government) and Preservation Education Coordinator at the Wisconsin State Historic Preservation Office. Tish advises municipalities on planning with cultural resources and advocating on their behalf for economic and community development (say what?). Lake Geneva became a partner with the CLG in 2007 and never utilized the opportunities it offered (probably because it didn’t understand that last sentence). Sometime around 2021 Lake Geneva made some changes to historic ordinances and lost its compliance with the CLG.
Jason Tish can lay out exactly what needs to be changed and has verbiage for the city with respect to bringing city ordinances into compliance. This is the organization that, if the city approves of the ‘Searching For Geronimo’ project, would fund the project. Jason presented what Lake Geneva needs to do to return to compliance with the CLG. Being in compliance with the CLG has its benefits and could open up many opportunities and most importantly grants, and maybe even lead to finding bits and pieces of Geronimo himself. Being in compliance and an active member of the CLG the city would benefit most importantly when it comes to the Hillmoor property (as in ‘send us a check).
