Genoa Days kicks off with 2025 King and Queen Scholarship Contest

GENOA – After dancing to Chappel Roan’s “HOT TO GO,” the winners of Genoa’s storied scholarship contest were announced before a crowd of hundreds Wednesday night as the city kicked off Genoa Days 2025.

The winners of the 2025 Genoa Days King and Queen Scholarship Contest are Abby Fellows and John Swineheart, both 18 and graduating seniors at Genoa-Kingston High School. They were chosen out of a field of 10 finalists.

Fellows said it felt good to win the coveted contest.

“I’ve watched many friends go through this scholarship, go through this competition, and it feels really good that you have people looking up to you, in who you are as a person,” Fellows said. “I’m glad that me and John both got it. I think John is also very deserving of the scholarship and award.”

As a result of their victories in the Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce organized event, Fellows and Swineheart will each receive at least $1,000 that can be put toward their education.

Genoa Area Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Krissy Johnson said the majority of the sponsorship funds that comprise the scholarship come from the Genoa business, Liquor’n’Wine, 540 E. Main St.

While the scholarship supports students and families with the financial burden of post-high school education, the competition helps foster community and volunteerism in Genoa.

The annual Genoa Queen competition was first held in 1936 for the city’s centennial celebration before being brought back in 1961. It started largely a popularity contest, but the contest has changed with the times.

In 2025, winning hinges on a contestants’ community service hours, and the two interviews they do with a panel of judges. The first interview is held in a private setting, but the second interview took place Wednesday night, in front of a live audience of judges, family, friends and anyone else who attended the first night of Genoa Days.

For the final round, Fellows and Swineheart answered questions about themselves from a stage on the south west corner of Route 72 and Genoa Street.

Swineheart was asked what he’s most looking forward to over the next five years, while Fellows was asked to talk about her most prized possession.

They didn’t know if they would be asked those specific questions, but they grew up watching the contest so that wasn’t a curveball.

Now a winner, Swineheart said sitting on stage felt different than he expected.

“You know what, I honestly think that it was a lot scarier watching it than it was actually being in it,” Swineheart said. “It came naturally, but I know from prior years, looking up at it, I thought there was going to be a lot of nerve and preparation I’d have to overcome.”

Genoa Days 2025

Wednesday marked the beginning of Genoa Days 2025, a fundraiser for the Genoa-Kingston Fire District.

The multi-day festival has more than a dozen rides, including a few that will send you far above the tallest building in downtown Genoa.

While all of the 2025 Genoa Days King and Queen Scholarship Contest finalists said they were excited to go on the variety of rides that have taken over downtown Genoa, the woman tasked with organizing the contest said she wasn’t on their level.

Johnson said she will not be seen on any of the rides because she prefers keeping her feet planted to the ground.

“I have seen on the ferris wheel a few times, even though it does scare me,” Johnson said. “I do love the photos that are taken from the top of the ferris wheel, I think they are amazing, and I wish I had the courage to get up there and take some but I just don’t.”

Rides aren’t the only attraction at Genoa Days, however. Classic carnival games are featured on the west side of the festival, and music performances are scheduled throughout the week.

Like most festivals, food is a featured attraction Nina’s Tacos, Lou’s Lemonade, Landing Ground Coffee are complementing Genoa establishments like Latsis Bakery to sell a wide array of food options to festival goers.

The festival will culminate at 1 p.m. on Saturday with the Genoa Days Parade at 1 p.m. The parade will begin by the intersection of Main Hadsall streets and head west. It will then turn south, off Main Street onto Sycamore Street, before turning west on West Hill Street. The parade will end at the corner of W. Hill and S. Washington Street.

All of the finalists of the 2025 Genoa Days King and Queen Scholarship Competition will get to ride in the parade on Saturday, but until then they’re free to enjoy their first Genoa Days as adults.

”I’ve been going to this since I was a little kid," Swineheart said. “I’ve lived in Kingston my whole life, I’ve always gone to Genoa Days. It’s an awesome experience, it’s like no other.”