Corn Fest will be returning to Hollamon Street in Camp Verde for its 29th year from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, July 15.
According to local farmer Claudia Hauser, the festival started as a way of showcasing the family’s corn. In 1994, Dee Whitt, then the director of the Camp Verde Chamber of Commerce, received many calls from people asking about the Hauser corn and proposed Corn Fest as a way to show it off.
Hauser and Hauser Farms provide the corn for the festival. “We are too busy working making sure the event has corn to even visit the Corn Fest,” Hauser said. “But we have heard how fun it is as long as the monsoons don’t show up.”
The event will feature fresh roasted corn, food trucks, vendors and a beer garden offering local microbrews.
Nonprofits benefited by the festival include the Kiwanis Club of Camp Verde and the Verde Valley Rangers. Attendees can take throws at the dunk tank to benefit the Camp Verde High School volleyball team and the Camp Verde Recreation Association.
The annual event is brought to residents by the Town of Camp Verde with sponsorship from Yavapai College, the Salt River Project and local businesses.
A cornhole tournament will be held at noon on the field. Four bands will be supplying live music as part of a “Country in the Corn” lineup. Vendors will be available inside the community gym as well as tables and chairs.
The homemade salsa contest will also return this year, with both traditional and non-traditional categories.
“It’s a way to bring our community together and that’s always a good thing, especially in our country today,” Hauser said. “Food is important, always has been, always will be and I am glad to be a part of showing people how important agriculture is.”
The town is also looking for volunteers to help with setting up, tearing down and gatekeeping. Contact Camp Verde Parks and Recreation at parks@campverde.az.gov or (928)554-0820 for more information.
