Geneseo’s Community Town and Gown Passport

Photo Courtesy of Grace Terhune

In preparation for the inauguration of SUNY Geneseo’s fourteenth president, Melinda Treadwell, the college is hosting a wide array of events for both students and community members to engage in. One of those events is the Community Town & Gown Passport. 

The passport is designed to encourage community members and students to support local businesses and learn more about the participating offices on campus. There are 40 participating locations, 12 of them being offices on SUNY Geneseo’s campus. The rest are local businesses located within walking distance of campus. At each location you will receive either a stamp or a sticker to show that you stopped there. If you think you may lose the physical passport, you can download the LivCo App for an electronic version.

This event is ongoing until Oct. 17, which is the date of the Together Toward Tomorrow community event happening at the Village Park and Doty Lawn. If you receive 15 stamps prior to the event, then you are eligible to receive a free t-shirt at the community event.

As someone who works in the Office of Admissions—one of the participating on campus locations—it is fun to see everyone come in with friends or colleagues to collect their stickers. If you come visit the Office of Admissions, you will receive a glittery animal sticker. 

There are four stops just in Doty Hall. On the lower level, there is the Office of Alumni Relations. The main level has the Office of Admissions. Then the third floor has the Title IX Office and the Office of the President. The Office of the President has candy for any student; I picked up a York Peppermint Patty and it was delicious. 

I absolutely love the concept of this event; it reminds me of something that would be done at Walt Disney World. During festival season at Epcot, they had interactive passports just like this, where you go around and try different food booths. 

I ventured out onto Main Street to start my passport journey. I started at Touch of Grayce, as I needed to buy a Jellycat anyways. I bought a croissant Jellycat, and chatted it up with the lovely lady who cashed me out. We had a fantastic conversation about both The Lamron and the passport. 

I then made my way over to the Not Dot Shop, as I was in need of a greeting card. I ended up not finding what I needed, but while in the Not Dot Shop, I ended up finding something I did not know I needed: a vintage Mickey Mouse Club pin. I checked out and received another stamp in my passport. 

This event is the perfect opportunity to explore Geneseo and all the shops on Main Street; you can check out all of the scarecrows, the beautiful fall foliage, and eat some amazing bites. 

I need to venture out once again to check out all the other stops on my passport. I hope to see events like this in the future that work to bind the local community together with the Geneseo student body.