By Whitney Vickers
FAIRBORN — The smell of steaming golden nuggets on a cob will fill the air as the 35th Annual Sweet Corn Festival hits the City of Fairborn.
The event, scheduled for this weekend, will kick off in its usual fashion – having the ribbon cut by the Sweet Corn King and Queen, Paul and Connie Newman – followed by opening the festival’s vendor and entertainment offerings, such as the annual AVA Volksmarch, corn-eating competition, musical performances and children games.
The City of Fairborn has proclaimed this week as “Sweet Corn Festival Week.” Festival officials are estimating more than 45,000 individuals to be in attendance.
“We ask that all of you come out on Saturday and Sunday,” Sweet Corn Festival Event Chairman Warren Brown said. “The rain, we’ve been told … that if it rains, it should be Saturday night so no problems.”
Approximately 180 booths will open for the two-day event, offering citizens the opportunity to purchase a variety of specialty and arts and crafts items. One booth will offer superhero capes for children and dog. Another will open early and offer coffee and homemade donuts.
And, of course, the steam-cooked sweet corn, which comes from Brentlinger Farms, will continue to be the star of the show as the community tradition continues. Brown added that Brentlinger Farms plants a special crop each year specifically for the festivities.
“We welcome all of you to come out and enjoy the festivities,” Brown said. “It’s wholesome entertainment for the whole family that’s close by.”
Parents can expect to be asked to allow their children to ride the ponies and train ride and hop around in the big bounce. In the meantime, individuals interested in history will have the opportunity to step back into the 1840s with a Pioneer Village, offering candle making, silversmithing, blacksmithing, stockades and black powder gun demonstrations.
Children will also have the opportunity to participate in a coloring contest this year, a reinstated feature to the Sweet Corn Festival. It will be broken into five age categories, offering prizes for each group.
Nine bands and artists will take the stage during the festival’s opening day, including the Fairborn High School Marching Band, Fairborn Civic Band, A.C. Strings/Fairborn Regional Orchestra, Common Thread featuring Tiffancy Elyse Harnly, Sophia’s Shimmy Cats, Just Forginen, Young at Heart Line Dances, Jenny Lynne Snow and the Living Room Marching Band.
Those attending the festival’s opening day will also have the opportunity to participant in the opening ceremony, AVA Volksmarch and corn-eating competition. Attendees can also expect to see QR codes scattered throughout the festival, which will take individuals to the Sweet Corn Festival webpage if utilized.
The festival’s second and final day will welcome Joe Rivers Christian Rocker, Ray Brooks Hammered Dulcimer, Yellow Rockers Square Dancing, Forsaken, Miami Valley Music Men, Sophia’s Shimmy Cats, Five Point Cloggers and Spirit of Thunder – Native American Flute, to the stage.
The Fairborn High School Marching Band will begin playing 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 20, signalling the start of the event’s opening ceremony, scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. The festival will close Saturday at 8 p.m. The first musician will take the stage at 11 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21.
The last performer will wrap up their set, signalling the end to the community’s annual event, by 7 p.m. The Sweet Corn Festival will take place at Community Park, 691 E. Dayton-Yellow Springs Road.
