Each year, since ancient times, the Seneca Elders and the Keepers of the Faith would build a fire on top of Bare Hill, near the former Seneca village of Genundowa, which  overlooked Canandaigua Lake.  The fire was to give thanks for peaceful times and abundant harvests.  After the initial fire was lit, it was answered by smaller fires from encampments along the lake shore.  Over the years, this tradition spread to several other of the Finger Lakes.

 People who have grown up along Keuka Lake have always refered to the Festival of Lights by its Seneca name, “Genundowa,” ( pronounced  ga NUN doe ah ).  Steuben County Historian Richard Sherer could recall personally participating in this event "as far back as 1935,” and documented that the Genundowa Celebration was observed, by non-Indians, on Keuka Lake continuously since the late 19th century. 

This event had its origins in 1993 when members of the Hammondsport Chamber of Commerce noticed posters referring to Genundowa  as “Flare Night”. The Chamber members felt that this event had lost most of its original meaning, becoming a night to celebrate the end of summer and the closing of seasonal cottages with a few flares and refreshments.  In October 1993 the Genundowa Committee was formed to organize a more traditional celebration that would feature Iroquois artisans, dance and drum exhibitions, and Native American foods.  The two day event is highlighted by the lighting of the Celebration Fire at the Village lakefront, which is answered by flares and campfires along the shoreline. An Iroquois Social Dance accompanies the lighting of the annual fire.