Sweet corn, family fun the focus in Elkader this week
Sweet corn, family fun and community spirit are the focus in Elkader this week, as the Sweet Corn Days celebration takes place Thursday through Sunday, July 24-27. (File photo)
By Kaitlyn Kuehl-Berns | Times-Register
Sweet corn, family fun and community spirit are the focus in Elkader this week, as the Sweet Corn Days celebration takes place Thursday through Sunday, July 24-27. The Sweet Corn Days Committee, which member Danielle Shea said, “runs like a well oiled machine,” has been brainstorming, planning and preparing for this year’s celebration since last year’s ended.
Four days of small town summer fun, kicks off on Thursday, July 24, at Founders Park with Chalk the Walk starting at 4 p.m. The 200 block of South Main Street comes alive at 5 p.m. with an ice cream social hosted by Main Street Elkader and a vendor and street fair. The musical act of the night is Plum Street Jam, performing outside of TD’s Sports Bar & Grill. The day ends with a movie in the park hosted by the Elkader Cinema. This year’s feature is Harold & the Purple Crayon.
Day two of the celebration starts at the Elkader Golf & Country Club with the Elkader Area Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. The celebration moves to Founders Park for the crowning of Sweet Corn Days royalty and the announcement of the grand marshal at 5:45 p.m. With the purchase of a wristband, carnival rides, including Euro jump, cups of fun, a rock climbing wall, toddler play area and inflatables, are open from 6 until 9 p.m. The drink tent, food vendors and live music will run from 6 p.m. until midnight. Musical entertainment for Friday night includes Curtis Goodman and The Drama Kings. The Sweet Corn Days firework display is at dusk.
Whether you like to run, stretch or swing a bat, Saturday morning has an activity for everyone. Elkader Fitness hosts a Kids Fun Run, 5k/10 Work or Run and a 0.08 Mile Shotgun Run. A softball tournament at the city park raises funds to support the Central Elkader wrestling program. Teri Ann Marting of Exhale Pilates & Yoga Studio leads Bend & Booze yoga in the park.
The Elkader Public Library will hold a sand bottle art craft at 10 a.m. Throughout the celebration, the Friends of the Library will have a book sale in the Central State Bank Community Room with hours varying each day. At 11 a.m., there will be a kiddie tractor pull and bean bag tournament. From 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., the carnival rides and other amusements will be open. New this year, bingo will be held as a fundraiser for the Central Warrior PTO. The drink tent and food vendors also open for the day at 11 a.m.
The Sweet Corn Days parade begins at 2 p.m. The route follows Main Street to Founders Park, where a car show will follow at 3 p.m. The Elkader Fire Department will serve free sweet corn at 4 p.m. No Turnin’ Back will play music from 3 until 7 p.m. There will be a moonlight swim and teen sand volleyball tournament from 8 until 11 p.m. CORNSTOCK, a musical event for those 19 and older, will feature performances by Before I Met You and Sushi Roll Bar.
Sunday morning wraps up the weekend with a pickleball tournament at 9 a.m. at the Elkader City Park.
More information on the event can be found at www.elkadersweetcorndays.net or on the event’s Facebook page at ‘Elkader Sweet Corn Days.’
Shea credits the event’s success to a shared desire to help create memories for the community and to assigning roles that play on its members’ strengths. Over the years Shea has been involved, the committee has added events, food vendors, music and drinks in the park, and enhanced the flow of activities to keep visitors entertained throughout the day.
“Finding individuals to flawlessly execute each role is what has allowed the event to grow and evolve,” Shea said. “Every committee member takes pride in their work. And while it’s a ton of work, we have a lot of fun together.”
Just to name a few, Jenna Wemark handles the royalty, Courtney Scherf lines up the music, Jared Burkle takes care of the food vendors, Allison Burkle coordinates the volunteers, Jason Scherf manages logistics of the layout and is the liaison with the city, Mackenzie Houg keeps the website updated, while Caleb Shea organizes the beer tent and anything else that is needed.
Maintaining strong relationships with local organizations, businesses and volunteers is key. Whether through sponsorship, complementary events or volunteer support, collaboration helps keep Sweet Corn Days a staple in the community.
This year, three main goals for the committee were to grow the Thursday night “kick off” celebration, add a pickleball tournament and maintain the same fun, safe and high energy atmosphere the event is known for. Thursday night will see the addition of the event’s first Vendor and Street Fair, with 16 vendors signed up. The committee also teamed up with Kelly Schaffer to launch the new pickleball tournament on Sunday morning.
Outside of the parade and fireworks, which Shea believes “make the Sweet Corn Days what it is,” the selection of the musical acts is another piece the committee takes seriously. They focus on bringing in a mix of local talent and artists from outside the area. They love to support musicians from the region and keep things fresh and exciting. With a variety of genres, they aim to have something for everyone.
