Ventura cornhole festival features competitions, auto show, music at fairgrounds
The Throw Down Cornhole Festival is all grown up.
It began as a block party outside of Spencer Makenzie’s Fish Co. in Ventura and has expanded to the Ventura County Fairgrounds. This year's event starts Friday and continues through Sunday.
The 13th annual festival will reach a new level of prestige after moving from the fairgrounds parking lot last year, said John Karayan, event founder and co-owner of the seafood restaurant.
"The first year felt good but different," Karayan said. "Moving into the fairgrounds this year it was just like, finally: This is my vision when I created this thing. It came to fruition."
Last year, about 20,000 people attended over three days, he said.
More are expected to attend this year. A classic automobile show highlighting trucks from the 1960s to the 1980s will feature nearly 300 vehicles and is expected to draw new visitors, Karayan said.
Multiple bands will provide entertainment and a giant version of cornhole. Participants can win cash prizes using a large trebuchet to launch an oversized bean bag toward a cornhole board.
The main attraction, however, is cornhole. The tournament has partnered with the American Cornhole League, the governing organization of professional cornhole, and the finals will be shown live on ESPN Sunday after a Major League Baseball game, Karayan said. There will also be live coverage on Friday.
For those unfamiliar with cornhole, the game features players or teams throwing a corn bag into the hole of an inclined wooden box. The sport is growing in popularity and more people are playing professionally, Karayan said.
Among the professional cornhole players competing on Saturday is Nick Williams, 42, of Santa Barbara.
Williams, who is sponsored by Ultra Cornhole and the Shuck Ups Cornhole Club, said his best performance this year in team play is 28th, but he's aiming for a top-10 finish in Ventura.
“I'm just trying to stay focused,” he said. “You need to have physical ability and mental clarity."
In competition, he doesn't drink alcohol but said a lot of other players do.
"It's definitely more than 50% that use that liquid courage to calm their nerves and some just like to drink," Williams said. "For me, it's more about concentration than calming the nerves.”
More than 1,280 teams will compete, with some $300,000 cash at stake, according to promotional materials.
Additional cornhole tournaments for nonprofessionals have been added so anyone can play for money. People can also play cornhole for free on open courts.
"I love everything about it," Karayan said of the sport. "How everyone can play. Little kids, moms, anybody can play the sport and compete at it."
If you go
What: Spencer Makenzie's Throw Down Cornhole Festival
When: Noon to 10 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. SundayWhere: Ventura County Fairgrounds, 10 W. Harbor Blvd., VenturaAdmission: General admission tickets are $25 for a day pass or $50 for three days. Children 12 and under are free.Information: thethrowdowncornholetournament.com
Wes Woods II covers West County for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at wesley.woodsii@vcstar.com, 805-437-0262 or @JournoWes.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura cornhole festival to throw down at fairgrounds
