Corn Fest is returning to the Verde Valley after taking a pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, and organizers anticipate this year to be bigger than ever.
The 27th annual Corn Fest will take place Saturday, July 17, in downtown Camp Verde. In addition to the freshly roasted Hauser & Hauser Farms corn traditionally sold at the festival, there will be food trucks, live music and a variety of vendors.
Michael Marshall, parks and recreation division manager for the Town of Camp Verde, said the city is looking forward to bringing the festival back to the community.
“We are very excited to continue our reopening progress with this event,” he said. “The community is looking forward to Corn Fest, and, based on our Pecan & Wine operations, we anticipate no problems other than the usual July weather.”
This year’s Corn Fest will look similar to the last one, held in 2019, in that it will be a street fair style event, taking place on Hollamon Street as well as at the Community Center Gym.
Marshall said the town is expecting over 3,500 attendees at the event and have had a great response from vendors as well. The event will likely have twice as many vendors as last time, largely due to the decision to expand the event to the shaded grassy grounds around the Parks and Recreation building this year.
“In general, we have been receiving great interest from vendors in our events,” he said. “We believe this is due to the success of our past events in general as well as the pent up interest coming out as the COVID pandemic eases.”
There will be additional space between vendors and handwashing stations set up around the event to help keep things COVID-19 safe.
“The public enjoys the spread out and not crowded feel, and why didn’t we have extra handwashing available in the past?” Marshall said.
The town will also be setting up a large pavilion shade tent with tables and chairs to give attendees a place to take a break while enjoying live music by the Aaron McCall Band and Peaceful Outlaws.
Other activities taking place include the Verde Valley Ranger’s beer garden, a Kid’s Activity Garden operated by P&R, “Corn Fest Kids,” an interactive children’s theater that will take place in the Veteran’s Memorial Gazebo, and flat track racing at the Camp Verde Equestrian Arena.
The second-annual Sweet Corn IFK Kickboxing Championship will also be taking place on the Community Center field from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets for the event range from $20 to $40.
Marshall said the town is offering free vendor space to nonprofit organizations as well as fundraising opportunities in an attempt to better support these groups. The Trail Life youth group will be operating a dunk tank as a fundraiser and the Kiwanis of Camp Verde will be selling Hauser and Hauser Farms corn by the dozen to raise money for its organization.
“Community fundraising and grassroots involvement are what make these events true community events,” he said.
Hauser and Hauser Farms ran into a bit of a snag this year when a late frost killed some plants and prevented others from pollinating correctly, causing them to lose around two thirds of the crop.
Owner Claudia Hauser said while this situation has been challenging, it is not expected to impact this year’s Corn Fest.
“We plant in stages. Each week we plant a new set, so the first two sets were the ones that got the most frost damage,” she said. “We are almost through that corn, so once it’s done, all the corn that’s left is great. So no, the supply for the Corn Fest will not be affected.”
Corn Fest goes from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and is free and open to the public
