Debbie Vasica of Elgin has been making a habit of coming to the annual Sugar Grove Corn Boil every summer.
“I’ve come many times before, and I keep coming back. It’s friendly, it’s kid-friendly and there’s lots of food and crafts,” she said Saturday morning as she walked with her husband Robert and granddaughter Freya, 4, into Volunteer Park in Sugar Grove for the festival which ran from Thursday to Sunday. “I love corn, and it’s the only vegetable my husband will eat.”
More than 25,000 people were expected to attend this year’s annual event, a tradition that is nearing 60 years.
This year’s event again featured a full musical lineup from Friday through Sunday, along with the second annual cornhole tournament on Friday; Bingo on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday; arts and craft vendors on Saturday and Sunday; and a car show on Sunday.
The festival’s parade was held on Friday and carnival rides and more than a dozen food options were offered daily.
During the event, officials said the unpredictable weather had been impacting attendance including Saturday morning as the Vasicas and others began to come into the park for the festival.
David Baumgartner of Sugar Grove was working as a volunteer on Saturday.
“Once the weather cleared up people were here and enjoying themselves,” he said of the first couple of days of the festival.
“Attendance has been OK,” he said Saturday. “It seems like it was decent but people were worried about the weather. But to me, the biggest draw is a mix of the fresh corn and the bands and the teens and kids with the rides.”
Robert Vasica admitted he does, in fact, like corn and that one ear “would probably be enough.”
“I was at carnivals as a kid and seeing things through my granddaughter’s eyes now is a little different,” he said. “They’re probably bigger and better. I like how this is organized.”
Shawn West of Joliet was manning Annabelle’s BBQ at the event.
“The weather has been a little bit of a bummer but that’s what happens,” he said, noting that “the best we ever did here was sell 2,400 pork chops on a stick.”
Predictably, an army of volunteers was on hand Saturday preparing corn including Dave Burroughs of Sugar Grove.
“We’ve done as many as 11,000 ears of corn some years,” he said.
“The corn came from southern Indiana this time,” he said while looking at a huge tub where corn floated in water. “I think people keep coming to this because it’s a good family event – food, music, carnival. What else do you need?”
Trevor Sartain of Bristol stood by three corn boilers that could hold 50 ears of corn each and said this was his third year at the corn boil and he “likes the whole community aspect of it.”
“This has that country-like feel to it,” he said. “I like that.”
David Sharos is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.