The Sweet Corn Festival is an annual event that takes place in throughout the Midwest on the weekend before schools resume session during the summer months. The festivals sell a variety of merchandise, from

corn on the cob Corn on the cob is a culinary term for a cooked :wikt:ear#earofcorn, ear of sweet corn (maize) eaten directly off the corncob, cob. The ear is picked while the endosperm is in the "milk stage" so that the caryopsis, kernels are still tender. E ...

and other food sold by vendors as well as stalls that sell anything from

jewelry Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a western ...

CDs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

. Some of the vendors come from out of state to set up their stalls for the festival. The event also hosts live music performed by local bands and artists. Locations that have Sweet Corn Festivals include:

West Point, Iowa West Point is a city in Lee County, Iowa, United States. The population was 921 at the time of the 2020 census. It is part of the Fort Madison– Keokuk, IA- MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. History West Point was incorporated on March 25, ...

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin Sun Prairie is a city in Dane County in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. A suburb of Madison, it is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 35,967 at the 2020 U.S. Census. It is the second-most populous city in Da ...

Adel, Iowa Adel ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, Iowa. It is located along the North Raccoon River. Its population was 6,153 at the time of the 2020 Census. History Adel is the oldest town within Dallas County. Originally called Pen ...

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

Chatham, Illinois Chatham is a village in Sangamon County, Illinois, United States. It is located 2.8 miles south of Springfield and has a retail trade area that extends into four other municipalities, including Springfield. The population was 11,500 as of the 20 ...

, and

Hoopeston, Illinois Hoopeston () is a city in Grant Township, Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,915. History Hoopeston was laid out in 1871. It was named for Thomas Hoopes, one of the men who offered lan ...

. The Hoopeston National Sweetcorn Festival has been a continuous festival since 1938. The Hoopeston Jaycees have been the main sponsor for over 70 Years. The Festival includes many of the activities mentioned above, as well as a pageant called "The National Sweetheart Pageant" which is officially sanctioned by the

Miss America Pageant Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

. Eight contestants from the NSP have become

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 17 and 25. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is now judged on competitors' talent performances and interviews. As ...

! Citing a contract change within the ''Miss America Organization'', contestants will no longer be able to participate in both pageants. The festival does not charge for sweetcorn, but rather gives away more than 50 tons of corn each year. The corn is cooked onsight at Cole Titterington Park in Hoopeston, just off Route 1 by the steam generated from a vintage steam engine that was once used in the fields surrounding Hoopeston. That festival was cancelled between 1942–47, and 2020.

References

External links

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History of the National Sweetcorn Festival
Summer festivals Fairborn, Ohio Tourist attractions in Greene County, Ohio Festivals in Ohio Festivals in Iowa Festivals in Wisconsin {{US-cuisine-stub