Sweetcorn Festival kicks off Thursday
Aug. 31—HOOPESTON — The National Sweetcorn Festival begins Thursday and will run through Monday, Sept. 4 at McFerren Park in Hoopeston, located at West Penn Street and Illinois 1.
The annual event kicks off Thursday with the carnival from 5 to 10 p.m. and bingo in the Jaycees Shelter from 6:30 to 9 p.m., along with various vendors until 11 p.m.
"Something that I think all of our Jaycees are really excited about is the concert's coming back," said Lauren Linares, external vice president of Hoopeston Jaycees and advertising chairperson for the National Sweetcorn Festival. "We're really excited to bring that attraction back. We're hoping for a really good night."
Michael Ray will headline the concert Friday night with local band Beyond Carolina opening. Tickets for the concert are on sale now at hoopestonjaycees.org/festival, but will also be available the day of at the grandstand entrance.
Saturday is expected to be the busiest day, event-wise, according to Linares.
The day will begin at 6 a.m. with the flea market opening. Registration for the Bill Orr Memorial 5K will be from 6:30 to 7:30 a.m. at Sculpt Fitness in downtown Hoopeston. The one-mile fun run will begin at 7:30 a.m., the 5K at 8 a.m. and the Little Corn Eaters Fun Run at 8:45 a.m.
Car show registration will be held from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the southeast corner of McFerren Park. Awards will be presented at 3 p.m.
Gates open at 9 a.m. and the Grand Parade will start at 10:30 a.m.
The Demolition Derby and National Sweetheart Pageants also begin Saturday. The two events begin at 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., respectively, and Linares encouraged people to attend both if they can.
"From all of my experience at the festival, the main attractions are both entertaining in their own ways," she said, adding that in addition to the two popular events, people can also expect to get their fair food fix, and enjoy carnival rides and other games.
The festival originated in 1941 through an adaptation of the original Hoopeston Sweetcorn Festival. The first festival, in 1938, was organized by city businessmen to promote business in Hoopeston and to celebrate the yearly harvest of sweetcorn.
It was discontinued during World War II and later reorganized under the sponsorship of the Hoopeston Jaycees, according to the Hoopeston Jaycees website.
The Sweetcorn Festival is unique in that, aside from the normal carnival, demolition derby, Grand Parade and other events, approximately 50 tons of sweetcorn is cooked with an antique steam engine and distributed for free. It'll be distributed on Saturday from 1:30 to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 4 p.m.
The city of Hoopeston will also set off fireworks around 9 p.m. Saturday at the youth soccer fields.
"Beginning to end, Saturday is a really packed in day," Linares said.
Events continue throughout the weekend with a full schedule that can be found online at hoopestonjaycees.org/festival.
Linares said preparation for the annual days-long festival is continuous throughout each year.
"Things are always getting lined up — we are already talking about next year, and this year's festival hasn't even happened yet," she said.
She said the Jaycees receive support for the Sweetcorn Festival through numerous local sponsors, which the Jaycees are greatly appreciative of.
"This is the largest event that the Jaycees sponsor throughout the year, and all the funds of the Sweetcorn Festival go into the other programs throughout the year," Linares said. "There's just so many events we do to give back, primarily to the youth, in the Hoopeston community."
In addition to the National Sweetcorn Festival and the National Sweetheart Pageant, yearly Hoopeston Jaycee activities include: Underprivileged Children Christmas; Toys for Kids; Birthday Club; High School Post Prom; Easter Egg Hunt; The Fireman's Ball; and Miss Hoopeston Pageant.
