'Can't imagine a more beautiful thing:' TikTok's Corn Kid to visit Mitchell's Corn Palace on Saturday

Sep. 1—MITCHELL — A young boy whose obsession with corn brought him internet stardom is visiting Mitchell on Saturday, according to the South Dakota Department of Tourism.

Tariq took the internet by storm this month after a popular TikTok account, Recess Therapy, interviewed Tariq about an ear of corn he was eating.

"For me, I really like corn," Tariq said in a video. "Ever since I was told that corn was real, it tasted really good, but when I tried it with butter, everything changed."

Describing corn as "a big lump with knobs," Tariq believes not everyone has to try it for it to be "the best."

After the original interview was posted to Recess Therapy's page in early August, it quickly went viral, inspiring the audio to be remixed into a short musical number, which renewed the video's traction on the social media app, as hundreds of thousands of videos have since been posted using both the original audio and the remix.

Though an exact number of likes garnered by the audio and song is ever-changing, the two TikTok sounds have racked up billions of likes on the platform.

According to Katlyn Svendsen, public relations director for the South Dakota Department of Tourism, Tariq and his family will visit Mitchell on Saturday, where Tariq will get to experience the Corn Palace for the first time.

As part of his trip to the Corn Palace, the state's tourism department will designate Tariq as a Corn-bassador, and a proclamation will be issued commemorating his visit.

A trip to South Dakota is just the latest of Tariq's public appearances since his claim to fame.

He's since been featured in a Chipotle commercial, ordering a bowl with nothing but corn. He's also kicked up a Cameo account, giving buyers the opportunity to purchase a special video message at a fee as low as $200.

The trip to South Dakota was organized in conjunction with Mitchell's Convention and Visitors Bureau.