The Urbana Sweetcorn Festival

The Urbana Sweetcorn Festival was voted the #1 Community Event in The News-Gazette's People Choice Awards! We can't wait to have you, your family and friends out to the festival this year! The festival takes place August 23, from 5 p.m. to midnight, and August 24, from 11 a.m  to midnight, right here in Downtown Urbana!

The first Urbana Sweetcorn Festival was held in August 1975 in the parking lot at Main & Race Streets in downtown Urbana. It was a community event put on by the employees of local business Busey Bank.

The Urbana Business Association is now responsible for the planning of the festival, over the years adding an expanded family area, live music on multiple stages, food, vendors, and beer all in the heart of downtown Urbana.

FESTIVAL FACTS

• LOCAL SWEET CORN. LOCAL FOOD. LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT. LOCAL VENDORS.
• Around 20,000 ears of sweet corn are consumed each year at the festival.
• We get the corn from a nearby Illinois farm (Maddox Farms), so our corn is fresh, local, and delicious!
• We use an antique steam engine to cook the corn.
• The festival promotes green efforts by offering recycling receptacles throughout the festival, and we compost our corncobs!

For more, go here!