History of the Sweet Corn Festival

History of the Sweet Corn Festival
The Chatham Jaycees were Championship Cow Chip Throw.
founded in 1973 by a small In 1977 the festival moved off
group of civic-minded individuals Mulberry Street and onto the
with the broad objective of ser- Village Square. At this time the
vice to humanity. ·
one day event was expanded to
Jaycee member Ted Dale two days beginning on Friday
attended the Hoopeston Sweet evening at 5 p.m. Live music was
Corn Festival soon after the added two years later and the
chapter was founded. He pre- basic format of the festival was
sented a proposal to the fledgling complete.
In 1981 Jaycees Terry Burke
group tb hold a Chatham Sweet
Corn Festival in the summer ·of and Chuck Krummick led a team
1974. With $36 in the treasury, that designed and built an autoDale and the other 14 members mated chicken cooker. Charcoal
of the Chatham Jaycees (with fired with an electric chain drive
work mandatory for every mem- system that turned steel racks,
ber's '\vife, girlfriend and off- the "big cooker" as it was affecspring) ran the first Chatham tionately known, char-grilled
Jaycees Sweet Corn Festival.
over 40,000 chicken halves
Thanks to tolerant creditors before it was retired .in 1996.
who carried the $1,988 in Over 3,000 pounds of charcoal
expenses incurred, the first festi- were fed into the massive grill
val opened at 11 a.m. Saturday, each year during the two day
Aug. 24, 1974. Gross receipts event. Propane grills were first
were an unheard of $3,040. used at the festival in 1994. In
Five-hundred chicken dinners 1996 the charcoal grills were
were sold at $1 .75 apiece, and completely gone as were the
2,000 ears of sweet corn at "all chicken halves. As the festival
you can eat" for $1. Beer and has grown so has the menu. The
soda sold for 50 cents. The frrst 1998 festival boasts seven differfestival ended at 6 p.m. with one ent sandwich selections in addiand one-half kegs of beer con- tion to the traditional sweet corn.
sumed.
Two cast iron and one stainless
The first festival was con- steel boiler, each with an approxfined to Mulberry Street east of imate capacity of 50 gallons,
the Community Building and have been in service for many
was contained within a 100 X 50 years. The 2,000 ears of corn
foot perimeter. The corn was boiled at the first festival has
boiled in pans in the Community grown to a record 18,003, set in
Center kitchen. Chickens were 1995.
cut up in the IGA back room and
The 14-member organization
cooked outside on two gasoline has likewise grown to approxifired field stoves. The 500 atten- mately 100 members. The core
dees danced in the street to Qbjective of Service to Humanity
country music.
remains the basis for the activiEach year the festival has . ties of the Chatham Jaycees .
grown, the Chatham Jaycees This core value can be witnessed
have striven to make each suc- in the community action projects
ceeding Sweet Corn Festival a bit conducted by the group each
better than the last. In 1976, the year. Jaycee Park was completed
newly formed Rotary Club joined in the early 1980s. Westside
'· he festival with the first Illinois Community Park was completed
in the early 1990s, and Chatham
Community Park, considered one
of the finest in the region, is
nearing completion as the 1990s
close.
The. Chatham Jaycees ,
through its dedicated members ,
have been an integral force in the
development of these three fine
community assets. The Sweet
Corn Festival remains today the
principal fund raising event of
the Chatham Jaycees.
Gross
receipts of recent festivals exceed
$100,000.
.
In
1997 the Chatham
Jaycees Sweet Corn Festival
made another move. This time
the event was relocated to
Chatham Community Park. A
growing community and .everincreasing attendance rruide the
Village Square a less attractive
venue for the event. In its new
home the Chatham Jaycees are
certain the Sweet Corn Festival
will continue to be regarded as
the premier small town festival in
central Illinois.
Each year the Festival
attracts more interest from outside the local area. In 1984 the
United States Jaycees . awarded
the No. 1 fund raising event in
the nation to the chapter.
Recently, media exposure has
increased dramatically as the
national press regularly covers
the Sweet Corn Festival. In 1996
Chapter President Dave Schall
was invited to appear ori the
"Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Show" in New York.
The Chatham Jaycees are
deeply indebted to the citizens of
Chatham for · ·tolerating the
inconvenience which an event of
this size must cause. Also to the
village trustees and employees
who have always supported the
Sweet Corn Festival and without
whom this event would not be
possible.
5- 30-~5"
. ' :>".
.
Jaycees .e a·t :n state·
awar.d f o.r 'fe-s tival·'
., -.
:t...,(,_ ~.,
'At:lhe Jaycees State J:~onvention
1984 F estival to be the success that
held. i!1 Peoria the weekend of 'May earned the Jaycees their award.
10-12.; ·the .Chatham Jaycees were • Furthermore, in keeping with
· recognized by the . Illin,ois Jayc~es tradition, the 1985 Sweet Corn
for their 1984 Sweet Corn Festival.
Festival is already in the 'planning
Chatham received the first. place process and according . to coaward· in the category.; of Chapter chairmen Larry Black and Tom
Fund raisers for its : Population
Klemaier , it 's anticipated to be
Division. The hard work of Pete bigger and bet.t er than the 1984
Oglesby. Jaycee president from award winner .
dates for the event have been
May 1~84 to April 1,* 5 and · Sweet
Corn Festival co- ~hairinen Bob s·c heduled for August 23-24 in
Brady and Terry Bur~e. enabled the downtown Chatham .
------------------~--
Weekend of fun!
7-13'-Cf!7
22nd annual Sweetcorn
Festival July 21 and 22
For over two decades, the
Chatham Jaycees have brought
summertime fun to Central
Illinois.
In 1995, the 22nd annual
Sweetcorn Festival will be bigger
than ever.
As always, this year's festival
will have something for everyone,
according to Chairmen Steve
Etheridge and Dave Holland. With
more than 25 events, two great
eventngsoffreeliveentertainment.
fantastic food and acres of special
Jaycee butter-dipped sweetcorn,
it's no wonder the SWeetcorn
Festival continues to be a Central
Illinois favorite.
It all starts Friday, July 21 at
8 p_.m~ on.. the vUlage..-squ~
Chatham. Food and drink are
available all evening. Small Bongo
Club will be spicing the place up
at 8 p.m. with their Funkadellc
style of rock.
The festivities start back up
bright and early Saturday, July
22 with the SWeetcorn Festival
Run for the Parks.
The 1K kids fun run starts at
7 a.m. and the 5K run starts at
7:30a.m.
At 9 a.m. they'll be bump'in
and spik'in it with the Sweetcorn
Festival Co-Ed Volleyball
Tournament
(advanced
registration required) on the
village square.
Also at 9 a.m.. the Xi Mu Zeta
ChUdren's Corner opens. This
area consists of games, face
painting the Fire Safety House
and special guest visitors for the
children.
Also starting at 9 a.m.• check
out the many fine arts and crafts
exhibitors participating in the
Chatham Junior Women's Club
Arts and Crafts Fair on the north
side of the square. Be sure to also
check of the Friends of the Library
Book Sale.
At 10 a.m., the Krazy Kids
Kompetition
(advanced
registration required) takes over
the main stage area of the square.
Hosted by Tau Gammas, this
goofy famUy event pits teams of
kids and adults against one
another for fun and prizes.
At 11 a.m., the famous Jaycee
chefs fire up the grills and begin
serving mountains of their famous
sweetcorn fare, including ribeye.
sandwiches, butterfly porckchop
sandwiches, BBQ pork. BBQ
chicken halves, grilled chicken
breasts, plus 18,000 ears of hot
and buttery sweetcorn.
For your listening pleasure,
the Chatham Community Band
will perform under the main tent
a U~ 30a. m.
Kicking off the Saturday
afternoon fun at 1 p.m. "chip
happens" at the Illinois
Championship Cow Chip Throw
sponsored by Miller Beer and E &
F Distributing, Inc.
Celebrity and VIP competitions
will begin at 2 p.m. on the square.
Contlnutngat2p.m., theChatham
Jaycees present the Human Team
Tractor Pull. This popular event
is also sponsored by Miller beer
and E& F Distributing, Inc.
Then, kick back and relax to
an evening of great music as
Picture This is on stage first a 5
p.m. As the festival kicks into
high gear, be sure to stay for the
Debbie Ross Band which takes
--'------------~
the stage from 8:30 p.m. to
midnight. Proof of legal age is
required to purchase alcohol.
Bring a canned food item to
the sweetcorn festival for the
Chatham Food Pantry and receive
a free food or drink ticket (value
50 cents, limit one per person per
day). Proceeds from the Chatham
Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival will
be used to fund the many
community events and actMties
the Chatham Jaycees sponsor
throughout the year.
Anyone interested in joining
the- Jaycee organization may
contact any Jaycee during the
festival or attend a regular meeting
the s econclang fOJirth_ Thursday
evening each month of at the
Chatham VFW on West Mulberry.
Sweetcorn
Festival
'1-16-10
here this weekend
The 3 7th annual Chatham
Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival
will be held this Friday and
Saturday, July 16- 17, at Community Park. Chairpersons of
this year's Festival are Jared
Koester, Brittany Bisch, Ashley
Moore and Dan Holden.
The Tour de Corn Bike Ride
will actually be held this Sunday, June 11 . The event will be
sponsored by Wheel Fast Bicycle Co. of Chatham. Call 4837807 for more information.
The Sweetcorn Festival will
open Friday, July 16, starting
at 4 :30 p .m . Food and drink
will be available, and the Children's Area will be open. The
Miss Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant will be held from 4:30 to 6
p .m . (see related s tory) .
ands for Friday nigh
elude national touring and recording artist Da phne Willis of
Chicago. She will take the stage
from 6-7:45 p.m. The Station,
one of the Midwest's hottest "
bands and a local favorite, will
perform from 8 to midnight.
•On Saturday, July 17, a
full day of events are scheduled. A 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tourney, sponsored by
Crossroads Ford of Springfield,
begins at 8 a.m. The 7-on-7
football games start at 9 a .m.
The Festival opens at 10
a.m. , including the food tent.
sponsored by Marine Bank.
The Children 's Area opens at 11
a .m . Morning demonstrations
will be performed by Flip, Twist
'N Shout tumbling and gymnastics , along with Millburg's Tae
KwonDo .
Various bands will perform
in the afternoon hours , from
noon to 7 p.m., as part of An
Afternoon of Sweetcorn Blues,
sponsored by the illinois Cen tral Blues Club .
The Washer Toss Challenge
and Sweet Cornholing competitions start at 1 p.m. , while the
world famous illinois Cham-
pionship Cow Chip Throw begins at 1:30 p .m. That event is
sponsored by County Market of
Chatham.
The St. Andrew's Society
Ancient Athletics
Competition, sponsored by RP Lumber,
starts at 2 p .m .
Saturday night. the band
Still Kick'n takes the main stage
from 8 to midnight.
For more information about
the Sweetcorn Festival, visit
www.chathamjaycees.net.
lounger crowd tries its hand at cow chips
By DEBRA LANDIS
CORRESPONDENT
7 -18'-I D
"THERE'S NOTHING LIKE
this in Chicago."
CHATHAM - About 60 youngsters,
teenagers, twentysomethings and older saw
I
-JIM HENNEGAN
how far they could fling dried cow dung.
Saturday.
It was the Illinois Championship Cow
Chip Throw, part of
the 37th annual ed into men, women, children younger than
Chatham Jaycees 12 and VIPs. Throwing styles cover the
Visit our website for a Sweetcorn Festival, throwing style spectrum: underhanded,
video of the cow chip
which kicked off Fri- overhanded, sideways and Frisbee style
competition.
day and concluded were on display. Throwers compete for
Saturday night at first-, second- and third-place medals.
Community Park.
Of selecting what chip to throw from an
Proceeds from the festival, including the array laid on a large wooden wagon bed,
good-natured cow chip competition, benefit Chris Parks of Chatham observed, "It's all
local parks and charities. Participants pay in the texture of the cow chip. They need
$5 for two cow chips. Competition is divid- to be stiff, or they'll break when you
SJ·R. OM
throw them."
Parks threw one chip 78 feet and the
other 73 feet.
Five-year-old Grant Marcordes of
Chatham may have been the youngest cow
chip thrower. He threw one 16 feet and the
other 14 feet.
"This is his second year. I think he doubled how many feet he threw," said his
father, Terry, who threw one chip 83 feet.
Next year, Terry added, Grant's sister will
join the cow chip fun.
Tori Falter, the 2010 Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn Queen, joined the competition
Saturday and threw her chips about 43 feet.
Falter, a basketball and volleyball player
at Glenwood High School, said with
See CHIPS on page 22
Sunday, July 18, 2010
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER
CHIPS
• From page 17
a smile that throwing cow chips
was "absolutely not'' like passing a
basketball or spiking a volleyball.
The record for the longest cow chip
throw dates to 1975, when a participant threw 183.5 feet, according to
Chatham Jaycee John Moore, who
announced Saturday's cow chip
throw.
Jill Reynolds, who threw in the
VIP competition, has volunteered
with the sweetcom festival for
about 20 years. The festival, she
said, "is about all the volunteers,
Ted SchurterfThe State Journal-Register the people, the kids, and all the
Michelle Booker flings a cow chip Saturday during the Chatham
proceeds going to charity."
Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival at Community Park.
.The two-day Sweetcom Festival
-~~-~~~~~----~=~--~-"--'------ attracts on average about 10,000
people and features a variety of
music, food, drink and activities,
according to organizers.
Saturday's temperatures were in
...
the low 90s. A year ago, it was
about 75 degrees, with some people
wearing light sweaters, Moore said,
noting, 'We try not to mention the
h-word (heat) or the r-word (rain) .
It's July in Illinois."
Stephanie Edwards of Springfield said it had been 20 years since
she had participated in the cow
chip throw. Saturday, she and her
niece, 16-year-old Suzie Merritt, of
Yorktown, Va., were among the
contestants. Accompanying them
to the festival were Edwards'
boyfriend, Jim Hennegan of Chicago, and her brother and Suzie's
father, David Merritt of Yorktown.
"After this (the cow chip throw) ,
we're going to eat sweetcom," Edwards said.
Of the Illinois Championship
Cow Chip Throw, Hennegan said,
''There's nothing like this in Chicago."
Debra Landis can be reached
through the metro desk at 788-1517.
Tori Falter was crowned as the Miss Chatham Sweetcorn
Queen at the 201 0 Miss Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant last Friday
at Community Park. Falter was crowned by the 2009 Queen ,
Natalie Schroll.
7 -2.2...-/()
Heat brings down
Festival attendance
Mter a record-setting year
in 2009, organizers of the
Chatham Jaycees Sweetcorn
Festival knew it might be difficult to meet the same level of
success in 20 1 0.
The more moderate temperatures of last year gave way to
plenty of heat and humidity at
last weekend's festival, bringing
down the day crowds some.
"Things went pretty well,"
stated Jared Koester, Co-Chairman of the event. "We're happy
with the turnout, and once the
sun went down, people came
out in droves. It was just miserably hot during the day."
The Sweetcorn Festival featured the usual events, including Thursday's corn schucking,
Friday's Miss Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant and Saturday's
Cow Chip Throw. A new event
added this year was the Sweetcorn Eating Contest, where
participants in the high school
7-on-7 football tournament
were pitted against each other.
"Five schools participated,
and there were two teams from
(Continued on back pa e
Sweetcorn Festival - -{Continued from front page)
each school," Koester explained.
"Each participant had seven
ears of corn to eat, with the goal
being the fastest to finish. I'd
have to say it was the most exciting event of the weekend; we
had a big crowd under the tent
and it got a little hectic."
Plenty of sweetcorn was
eaten during the festival, and
some of the leftovers will be donated by the Jaycees . Ashley
Moore and Dan Holden were the
other Co-Chairs of the event,
while Brittany Bisch served as
Vendor Chair.
• Results from the Cow
Chip Throw, Washer Toss and
Sweetcornholing Tourney are
as follows:
Cow Chip Throw
•Men's Division- 1st Place:
Sam "Heathcliff' Wickliffe; 2nd
Place: Nate Briggs; 3rd Place:
Doug Krones.
•Women's Division - 1st
Place: Michelle Looker; 2nd
Place: Stephanie Sharp; 3n
Place: Hannah McNeff.
•Youth Division- 1st Plac(
Cody Flavin; 2nd Place: Bel
Thiele; 3rd Place: Lucas Flavin
•VIP Division - 1st Plac(
Jill Reynolds ; 2nd Place: Chri
Parks; 3rd Place: Lars fror
WQLZ .
Washer Toss
•Men's Division - 1st Plac(
Randy Turner; 2nd Place: Dru
Holden; 3rd Place: Nick "Dum
bo" Franke.
•Women's Division - 1~
Place: Barbara Staehle; 2n
Place: Jessica Ladage; 3r·
Place: Laura Kirchner.
•Youth Division- 1st Plac<
Maggie Sherlock-Jones; 2n
Place: Austin Rhodes; 3r
Place: Bryson Jacobs.
Sweetcornholing Tourney
1st Place: Ken Bentley an
Nate Workman; 2nd Plact
Mike Staley and Kelly Stale]
3rd Place: Patrick Kromm an
Sean Fox.
Tori Falter (seated) was crowned Queen
of the 201 0 Miss Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant
last Friday night. First runner-up (left) was Hillary Hammond, while Mary Kate Berger claimed
second runner-up. Behind Falter is the 2009
Queen, Natalie Schroll. In the background are
Brittany Butler (left) and Lauren Knepler (right) .
7
-2_;}._ -/()
Falter crowned Miss
Chatham Swe~fCOrn
Tori Falter, an incoming senior at Glenwood High School.
was crowned Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn 201 0 during the
Sixth Annual Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn Pageant last Friday
at the Chatham Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival.
Falter was crowned Queen
by the 2009 Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn, Natalie Schroll.
Hillary Hammond earned first
runner-up honors, while Mary
Kate Berger was the second
runner-up.
Jeni Estill was
named as Miss Photogenic.
Falter also took home the
title of Miss Congeniality, and
she also sold the most 50 I 50
raffle tickets of the eight girls
competing in the pageant.
Falter received a $500
scholarship, along with a gift
basket donated by area businesses. The runners-up received cash prizes and gift
baskets, while Miss Photogenic
received a personalized frame.
All contestants will receive an
8xl0 photo, donated by PKnJ
Media Design, along with a t-
shirt from Webster's T's.
Judges for the pageant were
Kris Krones, Jared Koester and
AmyVennell. Joe Martin served
as Master of Ceremonies, while ·
Shelley and Ashley Lynch once
again served as Pageant Directors.
Other pageant contestants
were Bethany Williams, Brittany Butler, Crystal Lee and
Lauren Knepler.
Participating
businesses
included: Sullivan Financial,
A. J.'s Tavern, United Community Bank, M. T. Reynolds and
Associates, Patti Kaylor and
PKnJ Media Design, Country
Club Lawn Care and Matt Hanner, Chatham Collision, Spoor
and Associates and Bill Spoor,
Trends Terra Bella, Antonio's
Pizza.
Secret Recipes,
Family
Video, Snap Fitness, People's
Bank, Sunroom. Tanning, Fat
Willy's, Meijer, Chatham Area ·
Public Library, Trendsetters, .
Alluring Collections, Webster's
T's and Chatham American Legion Post 759.
Jeni Estill (right) was named as Miss Photogenic during tl
201 0 Miss Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant last Friday night. Ma
ing the presentation was the 2009 Queen, Natalie Schroll.
Michelle Looker claimed the Women's Division title in the Illinois Championship Cow Chip
Throw competition, held at the Sweetcorn Festival last Saturday.
7 -;?__~-/'()
Sam Wickliffe claimed the Men's Division title at the Cow Chip
Throw competition at the Sweetcorn Festival last Saturday with a
toss of 134 feet
~
-'.2.:2. -/6
Natalie Schroll, the 2009 Miss Chatham
Sweet Corn Pageant Queen, waves (top) during
the Legion Homecoming Parade last Saturday.
This year's contestants are also pictured. Full
information on the 201 0 Pageant, which will be
held July 16 during the Chatham Jaycees Sweet
Corn Festival, will be coming in the next two edi-,-1-10
tions of the Clarion.
M~ss
Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant
~ Friday, July 16 at Community Park
Photos courtesy PKnJ Media
Sweetcorn Festival
here next weekend
The 37th annual Chatham
Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival
will be held next Friday and
Saturday, July 16-1J. at Community Park. Chairpersons of
this year's Festival are Jared
Koester, Brittany Bisch, Ashley
Moore and Dan Holden.
The Tour de Corn Bike Ride
will actually be held this Sunday, June 11. The event will be
· sponsored by Wheel Fast Bicycle Co. of Chatham. Call 4837807 for more information.
The Sweetcorn Festival will
open Friday, July 16, starting
at 4:30 p.m. Food and drink
will be available, and the Children's Area will be open. The
Miss Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant will be held from 4:30 to 6
p.m. (see related story).
Bands for Friday night include national touring and recording artist Daphne Willis of
Chicago. She will take the stage
from 6-7:45 p.m. The Station,
one of the Midwest's hottest
bands and a local favorite, will
perform from 8 to midnight.
•On Saturday, July 17, a
full day of events are scheduled. A 3-on-3 Youth Basketball Tourney, sponsored by
Crossroads Ford of Springfield,
LAUREN KNEPLER
TORI FALTER
begins at 8 a .m. The 7 -on-7
football games start at 9 a.m.
The Festival opens at 10
a .m., including the food tent,
sponsored by Marine Bank.
The Children's Area opens at
11 a.m. Morning demonstrations will be performed by Flip,
Twist 'N Shout tumbling and
gymnastics, along with Millburg's Tae Kwon Do.
Various bands will perform
in the afternoon hours, from
noon to 7 p.m., as part of An
Afternoon of Sweetcorn Blues,
sponsored by the Illinois Central Blues Club.
The Washer Toss Challenge
and Sweet Comholing competitions start at 1 p.m., while the
world famous Illinois Cham- +
pionship Cow Chip Throw begins at 1:30 p.m. That event is
sponsored by County Market of
Chatham.
The St. Andrew's Society
Ancient Athletics Competition, sponsored by RP Lumber,
starts at 2 p.m.
Saturday night, the band ·
Still Kick'n takes the main
stage from 8 to midnight.
For
more
information
about the Sweetcorn Festival,
visit www.chathamJaycees.net.
Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn Pageant
JENIESTILL
BETHANY WILLIAMS
Sweetcorn Pageant
(Continued from front page)
Tht:v year, contestants will
be selling 50 I 50 raffle tickets
in order to support the scholarship and give back a cash
prize to a member of the community. The 50/50 tickets will
be available for purchase from
any of the contestants and will
also be sold the evening of the
pageant.
Pictures of the girls
have been placed at United
Community Bank in Chatham
through July 15. Loose change
can be placed in your favorite contestant's bucket for the
Miss Photogenic competition
(one penny = one vote).
Photos of the girls were
, taken by Patti Kaylor of PKnJ
Media. They are printed in this
n~wspaper with permission.
The 2010 Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn Pageant will be
held Friday, July 16, from
4:30-6 p.m. at the Chatham
Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival at
Community Park.
There are eight contestants this year. Natalie Schroll
was the pageant winner in
2009. The 2010 pageant will
feature a personal interview
session, which will take place
Thursday, July 15. There will
also be §ill evening gown and
on-stage question parts of the
competition on Friday night.
The 2010 Miss Chatham
Sweetcorn Pageant winner will
receive a $500 scholarship,
along with various other prizes.
(Continued on back page)
7 -c:<.O<.-1{)
2010 CHATHAM JAYCEES SWEETCORN FESTIVAL
Photos by Mike Gorman, Tom Franke and Joe Michelich
7-0lt2-ID
2010 CHATHAM JAYCEES SWEETCORN FESTIVAL
Photos by Mike Gorman, Tom Franke and Joe Michelich
.. Since beginning nearly 40 yearSago~
Chatham Sweetcorn Festival has grown
Purchase these photos at www.sj-r.com/reprints
Photographs by David Spencer/The State Journal-Register
From left to right, Colton Hampson, 9, Aaren Hampson, 15, Jeanette Hampson and her husband, Brad Hampson, husk ears
of corn Thursday in preparation for the Sweetcorn Festival at Chatham's Community Park. The Chatham family volunteered
for the fourth year to help prepare for the annual event, which opens today.
Two-day celebration
kicks off today
Volunteer Dave
Schall, who said
he has worked
the festival for
the past 17
years, grabs a
sack of corn to
be husked
Thursday. There
are 15,500 ears
ofTallulla-grown
Ambrosia bicolor sweet corn
for the event.
By AMANDA REAVY
STAFF WRITER
amanda.reavy@sj·r.com
CHATHAM- After nearly four decades,
the Chatham Jaycees Sweetcorn Festival
has evolved from a small street party into a
two-day event that draws about 10,000 visitors.
The festival kicks off at 4:30 p.m. today at
Chatham Community Park. And a new generation of volunteers has taken the helm to
ensure the annual celebration continues to
be a popular attraction for residents
throughout the area.
Two of this year's co-chairs grew up
watching their parents volunteer countless
hours at the event.
"We used to plan our vacations around
it," said co-chair Ashley Moore, 23. "I've
been coming as far back as I can remember."
Moore's father, John Moore, was the
event chairman for three years in the 1990s
as well as in 2003.
Another co-chair, Jared Koester, 26, is
another second-generation Jaycee member.
His father, Ted, is the longest-serving current member.
"The best part is being able to put your
own personal stamp on it," Koester said.
"For the most part, the event, because
want togo?
WHAT: The 37th annual Chatham Jaycees
Sweetcorn Festival
WHEN: 4:30p.m. to midnight today; 10 a.m.
to midnight Saturday
WHERE: Chatham Community Park
ADMISSION: Free
Activities include live music, 3-on-3 youth
basketball tournament, 7-on-7 football
games, washer toss challenge, Illinois
Championship Cow Chip Throw, and St. Andrew's Society Ancient Athletics Competition.
For a full schedule of events, go to
www.chathamjaycees.net.
there's so many longtime members, has a
strong showing of continuity. A lot of guys
have been doing it for 25 years, and they've
tried different things and they've seen what
works and what didn't work."
Among the favorites that will be back this
year are the Illinois Championship Cow
Chip Throw, the pirate bar, the three-onthree basketball tournament, the Miss
Chatham Sweetcorn Pageant and plenty of
live music.
Bands performing tonight are Daphne
Willis of Chicago, whose band includes
Chatham native Josh Fox on drums, and
The Station. Saturday's music features "An
Afternoon of Sweetcorn Blues," sponsored
by the Illinois Central Blues Qub, and later
performances by The Post Script and Still
Kick'n.
One new attraction this year is a seven-
See FESTIVAL on page 11
volunteers, from the Jaycees and
other community groups, put in to
make the festival a ''well-oiled
II! .F rom page 9
machine," he said.
"Each community group tries to
on-seven football tournament at 9 help each other out. We're all smalla.m. Saturday at the park's football town, so we know a lot of people,"
Holden said. "It's always good to
fields.
"(Glenwood High School athletic have that community spirit."
John Moore, who's been involved
' director and football) Coach (Dan)
Rourke has been really helpful in with the festival since 1985, says
recruiting other teams to come he's glad that tradition will carry
on.
play," Koester said.
"I am very proud that we have a
The festival also will feature a
beer wagon dedicated to American new generation of volunteerS willcraft beers, with sample tasting on ing to step up and take on the many
Saturday from 2 to 5 p.m., Moore volunteer hours required to make
this event possible," he said.
said.
"Specialty beers are growing in
Amanda Reavy can be reached at
popularity, and we thought we'd try
788-1525.
to get it for people who like to partake," she said.
And there should be no shortage
of sweet corn. Volunteers gathered
Thursday night at the park to shuck
15,500 ears.
Fellow co-chair Dan Holden, a
five-year Chatham Jaycee member,
' said organizers are being environmentally friendly this year by giving
the discarded husks to a farmer
who will recycle them in his field.
But the quantity of corn pales in
comparison to the time dozens of
FESTIVAL