Midwesterners are about as corny as Urbana in August. Need proof? There are dozens of festivals devoted to the crop, offering everything from small-town boil-o-ramas to mile-long parades to corn coronations. The latest gimmick: Randy and Judy Hughes’ Corn Maze in Rock County Wis., where you’ll be up to your ears in the stuff.
It wasn’t aliens that cut that Wisconsin-shaped swatch in the middle of the Hughes cornfield. The couple did it themselves and concocted a 10-acre maze made from yellow and blue corn on their 150-year-old farm.
“Corn is our state crop,” says Randy Hughes, a fifth-generation farmer, trying to explain. Then he gives up and says, “We’ve all seen `Field of Dreams.’ I thought, `What’s this idiot doing cutting down all the corn?’ This year I was the idiot,” he laughs.
In Illinois, down in Mendota, the proceedings are a bit more traditional for Roberta Friedlin, who will be attending the town’s Sweet Corn Festival for the 23rd year in a row. “It’s a time of homecoming,” she says. “Children and grandchildren who have moved away come back and visit. Class reunions are planned for the weekend.”
A hybrid of native grasses devised by American Indians, corn can top off a good tortilla or a gas tank (ethanol is a corn-derived product). In niblets, on the cob, creamed or barbecued, dissolved into syrup or mashed into starch, it’s the stuff of both good nutrition and high-concept junk food.
So grab your maps, plenty of napkins and, aw shucks, don’t forget the salt shaker. Here’s the cream of the crop (all are in Illinois except the Corn Maze):
– 51st Annual Sweet Corn Festival, through Aug. 9, Mendota. About 55,000 people show up in Mendota, population 7,200, which is home to food processor DelMonte. Corn picked in the morning is cooked on antique steam engines downtown, then passed out free that same afternoon. Friday evening the Decatur Park Singers entertain and The Sweet Corn Festival Queen is crowned. Saturday features a classic car display along Lake Mendota Park, and downtown turns into a flea market and craft show with 200 booths, while Nearby the Little Miss Sweet Corn and MiniKing coronation is at 10:30 a.m. On Sunday, the temperature on the bank clock may read 103, but it won’t deter the cheerleaders, high school bands and pompom squads in the mile-long Grand Parade at 1 p.m. Also Sunday, more classic cars come to town along with carnival rides, Chicago’s South Shore Drill Team and an oldies revue. Fly in for a country breakfast at 7 a.m. Sunday to Grandpa’s Farm Airport, 2 miles south on U.S. Hwy. 251. To get to downtown Mendota, take Int. Hwy. 88 to Int. Hwy. 39, go 28 miles south and exit at U.S. Hwy. 34 to Illinois Avenue. Free admission and parking. www.sweetcornfestival.com. 815-539-6507.
– The Corn Maze, Moonlight Madness, Aug. 7-8, Kids Weekend Aug. 15-16, Rock County, Wis. “The average person is four generations removed from the farm,” says Randy Hughes, whose 2 1/2-mile maze of corn in the shape of Wisconsin takes about 45 minutes to find your way out of. Paths and 40-to-80-foot wooden bridges form the interior of the maze, designed by an English landscape artist. Cut onto a 40-acre site, the 10-acre design was mapped out with a global positioning satellite system that helps farmers define coordinates on large parcels of land. Enjoy the farm, animals, music, ethanol-powered vehicles and a helicopter ride for an aerial view of the maze. $6, $5 seniors, $4 children 6-11, under 5 free. Daily in August, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Free parking (plane ride, $20 extra).) The farm is southeast of Janesville near the intersection of Wis. Hwy. 11 and U.S. Hwy. 14. Take Int. Hwy. 90 to Wis. 11 east (toward Delavan). Go 1 1/2 miles to Wuthering Hills Drive, turn south to maze entrance. 608-756-2207
– Southern Illinois Sweet Corn and Watermelon Festival, Aug. 15, Mt. Vernon. The corn is cooked by a steam locomotive in Downtown Square, then served in three old-fashioned horse troughs; vendors use paintbrushes to slather on the butter. Now in its 26th year, the festival draws some 10,000 people who consume 4 tons of corn (Shuck Off contest 6:30 a.m.) and 4 tons of watermelon (eating contest begins at 10 a.m.). Free corn and watermelon from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Parade, bands, dance teams and floats go by in this small town’s friendly atmosphere. Shoppers will be treated to an outdoor craft fair and flea market. Take Int. Hwy. 57 south to Mt. Vernon exit 95, go east 4 miles to downtown. 800-252-5464. www.southernillinois.com
– DeKalb Corn Fest, Aug. 29-30, DeKalb. About 70,000 people are expected downtown over the weekend for one of the best festivals around. There’s a 10K run, an antique auto fest, an auction (bicycles included), a diaper derby followed by a toddler trot, a volleyball tournament, a craft festival with 100 crafters participating, carnival rides, a beer and wine garden, hands-on art activities for kids and historical bus tours both days. There also are 80 food booths and a corn boil with free corn. Saturday’s mainstage entertainment features five bands, including Son Seals at 8 p.m. On Sunday, Maynard Ferguson performs at 5 p.m. It’s free. Hours are 9 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday (then Ferguson does his show). Take Int. Hwy. 290 west to Int. Hwy. 88 west to Peace Road exit north to Ill. Hwy. 38-Lincoln Highway west to downtown. Free parking and shuttle buses available. 815-756-6306.
– Urbana Sweet Corn Festival, Aug. 29, Urbana. Like Seattle and Atlanta, Champaign-Urbana still has a thriving alternative rock scene, and the festival’s mainstage will feature rockers from the area. Its other stage will highlight pop, blues, jazz and grass-roots music. Of course there are 16,000 ears of corn that will be cooked over a steam engine. The Champaign County Queen will be on hand. Two new events have been added — bingo and trivia contests — in a shaded lot. Also, carnival rides, children’s games, 20 food vendors, 25 arts and crafts booths and an antique car show with an expected 200 classics. Take Int. Hwy. 57 south to Int. Hwy. 74 east to Lincoln Street exit, south to Springfield Avenue; turn east to Main Street. 217-344-3872.
– Downtown Normal Corn Festival, Aug. 29-30, Normal. Started by farmers, the festival is now in its 35th year and has undergone one significant change. Corn costs 25 cents an ear now ($2 by the dozen); it used to be free. Three blocks of downtown are roped off for the festival, timed to begin the week after Illinois State University classes start. Eighteen tons of corn get cooked in pots attached by pipes to an 1800s steam engine. There are flea markets, antique sales and bake sales, and there is live blues music throughout the weekend. To get there, take Int. Hwy. 55 south to Bloomington-Normal exit at U.S. Hwy. 51. Go south, and when you see Watterston Towers, the tallest building between Chicago and St. Louis and the largest college dormitory in the world, you’re just about downtown. A travel footnote: University Street is distinguished by the fact that it has a major university at each end, Illinois State University, in Normal, and Illinois Wesleyan University, in Bloomington next door. 309-454-9557.
– 55th National Sweetcorn Festival and Miss National Sweetheart Scholarship Pageant, Sept. 3-7, Hoopeston. Corn and pulchritude make up this small-town festival. Hoopeston later became a center for the Sweethearts pageant, where first runners-up from each state’s Miss America contest are invited to participate. More than 25 tons of free corn will be cooked all weekend long over a 1910 Port Huron steam engine. The Sweetheart Pageant culminates on Sunday. Completing the festivities are carnival rides, music stages, an art show, a demolition derby, a 90-minute grand parade Saturday morning, an antique car show, a muscle car show, hot air balloon rides, dances in the evenings and flea markets. $2 admission. Take Int. Hwy. 57 to Paxton (Ill. Hwy. 9) east and drive about 20 miles until you hit downtown Hoopeston. 217-283-7873.
