2024 Illinois Sweet Corn Festivals: Where, When and More to Find a Sweet Corn Festival Near You!

Looking for a Sweet Corn festival in December 2024? There is no other listing as complete and current as this list, just updated! Sweet Corn festivals are held through the United States, Canada, Britain, and Australia and much of the world. All the Sweet Corn festivals we can find are listed on this page! If you love Corn, look for a festival near you below! And I'm looking for more Sweet Corn festivals! Please write me, if you know of any to add!  I update the dates as soon as the festivals publish their information, but you can always click on the links (usually the name of the festival) to see the current information on the festival's own website. 

Especially this year, due to Coronavirus, be sure to click on the links (the blue, underlined name of the each festival) to confirm this year's dates on the website for each festival. If they don't have a website, call the phone number provided, but ALWAYS CONFIRM THIS YEAR'S DATES AND TIMES BY EITHER VIEWING THEIR WEBSITE OR CALLING.

Click here for the form to add a festival and have detailed information; or click here if you have general information and are not connected with the event!

2024 Illinois Sweet Corn Festivals

Illinois

Corn typically ripens from July to late August in Illinois. July and August dominate throughout most of the U.S.as the months for Corn production (and festivals) .

There are two general types of Corn festivals 1) community festivals, usually organized by a church, school, local Chamber of commerce or a town and 2). Corn festival held at and by a farm. They are different in what they offer, and community festivals tend to be less expensive so they are grouped separately. (of course not all states and areas have both.)
Following the festival listings are links to our easy to follow directions about making freezing corn, canning corn much more.

Community Corn Festivals

• Dekalb Corn Fest Inc - late August
  2583 Sycamore Road #80, Dekalb, IL 60115. Phone: 815-748-2676. Email: shawn@cornfest.com. Open: It should return in August 2021 at DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport; Festival Hours Friday, 3 pm to 11 pm; Saturday,  10 am to 11 pm; Sunday,  10 am to 6 pm. Directions: The festival site at DeKalb Taylor Municipal Airport in DeKalb, IL, which is about 60 miles west of Chicago.
• Illinois State Cornhusking Contest - Cornhusking Contest,
  Mike Hennenfent Farm, 1063 30th Street, Smithshire, IL. Phone: 309-729-5261. Email: FrankHennenfent@yahoo.com. Open: Sunday, October 6, 2024, Registration will start at 8 AM and the contest begins at 9 AM. If the contest is postponed, canceled, or the location is changed it will be posted on their website. See How to pick corn.
  For more information contact the Illinois State CornHusking President,
• The Mendota Sweet Corn Festival - August
  Phone: (815) 539-6507. Serves nearly 50 tons of free hot, buttered corn during the event. Music, parade, car show, ethnic and regional foods, handmade crafts and flea market. The festival offers a variety of entertainment events for the entire family. The events take place primarily in the downtown area, and with the exception of the beer garden, have no admission fees or parking fees. Free musical entertainment is in abundance. The Crafters Market Place and flea market features over 200 dealers in hand made crafts and unique merchandise. There is a Queen Pageant, beer garden with live bands, grand parade and a carnival with rides and games for both adults and children, plus much more. The midways are lined with food booths, featuring a multitude of ethnic, regional and festival foods.
  A visitor writes on June 30, 2023:
  "Unfortunately Del Monte has left our little town so they no longer supply the corn, but we still keep the tradition alive by offering free sweet corn on Sunday! The Mendota Area Chamber of Commerce also no longer sells corn ( but there are other clubs that will have some for sale that weekend) !"
  (UPDATED: June 30, 2023)
• Grundy County Corn Festival - late September
  Morris, IL. Email: cornfest@cornfestival.org. Antique Gas Engine Show, Art Show, Corn, Grain and Flower Show, Fireworks, Farm Fair, Parade, Eating Pie contest, Queen Coronation and much more
• Urbana Sweetcorn Festival - late August
  Admittance to the festival is free and yes ; that includes seeing the bands. You will, however, need to purchase tickets for food, drinks, and games at $1 each. There'll be ~30 food and drink vendors to satisfy any craving, informational and merchandise vendors to learn from and shop at, dozens of free and ticketed kids activities, a vintage car show, and two nights of live music featuring local favorites, regional up-and-comers, and national headliners. Oh, did we mention the best-tasting sweet corn the fine state of Illinois has to offer?The Urbana Sweetcorn Festival is host to two nights of live music, featuring performances by local favorites, several regional acts, and nationally-renowned headliners.

Farm Corn Festivals

In addition to community and church festivals, some private farms have their own Corn festivals.  See each farm for this year's dates (they often do not announce them until the end of June).  Also, scroll down to see the links to recipes, freezing, canning and jam making directions at the bottom of the page.

• We will be adding these as we find them;  Please write me, if you know of any to add!

Related Corn Information:

• Harvesting, storing and cooking corn.

Freezing Corn

You can easily freeze the sweet corn and have that great taste in the dead of winter! 

• Freezing whole ears of corn on the cob
• Freezing corn, cut off the cob

Canning Corn

This too, is easy... but it DOES require a Pressure Canner.  You cannot safely do this with a water bath canner.  Food poisoning is no joke!

• Here is how to can corn!
•  how to make canned creamed corn.
• Southern Chow-Chow (also called Piccalilli)
• Pickled corn relish
• How to make sweet corn ice cream

 

For other fruit and vegetable festivals, see this page!