Knox County 2010 Corn Fest A Success

Knox County 2010 Corn Fest A Success
By Echo Menges

From Pastor Sam Smith’s opening prayer to the raffle grand prize drawings this year’s Knox County Corn Festival didn’t disappoint.
Friday evening somewhere between 6:30pm and 7:00pm a storm blew in from the west and soaked Edina causing a headache for attendees, organizers, venders, and entertainers and forcing festivalgoers to take cover and the evening’s entertainment to pause.
Food vendors J.D. Kemper and Jamie Rustad made the trip to Edina from Des Moines, IA and had to close down early Friday evening because the rain wiped out most of the crowd. They own Tiki J’s and served a variety of products including sweet potato fries, wraps, burritos, and fried peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.
“This business is all about the weather.” Said Kemper. “When it’s cold people eat. When it’s hot people drink. When it rains they stay home.”
Fortunately the weather cleared up and Saturday’s festivities were full of blue skies, just a few clouds, and a bit of light wind. Kemper says he had a good weekend despite Friday night’s storm and they managed to sell out of their most popular item, their chicken fajita wrap, on Saturday evening. He and Rustad plan to return next year. This was his second year as a food vender at the Knox County Corn Fest.
A large crowd packed Lafayette Street in front of the courthouse for the annual Corn Fest Parade. It lasted just over an hour before the crowd descended on the Edina Town Square and the 4-H Pavilion.
From crafters to puppeteers the festival had something for everyone. The new additions to the festival like Monkey Mountain and the Great Lakes Timber Show were crowd pleasers. All the attendees I talked to enjoyed the festival very much and were happy to see so many people at the event.
The one disappointment for organizers was that the Euro-Bungee trampoline attraction was a no show because of circumstances out of anyone’s control. KCPC didn’t loose any money on the deal and the absence of the attraction seemed to go un-noticed by festivalgoers.
Four meals were served at the 4-H Pavilion throughout the weekend. The meals were cooked and served by the Knox County Rescue Squad, the Knox County Swim Club, the St. Joseph and Aloysius Youth Groups, and the South Side Youth Center.
Madd Hoss Jackson played Saturday night on a stage set up on Main Street between the Sentinel office and the 4-H Pavilion. A large crowd packed the street and the beer garden, which was close by, overflowed with people.
By Sunday the festival seemed to take a more serene tone with fewer attendees than Saturday but plenty of fellowship and fun. A church service was held in the 4-H Pavilion and local Lisa Blake followed singing gospel music throughout the late morning and early afternoon.
You will find the winners of the Baby Show in this issue if the Edina Sentinel along with more pictures taken at this year’s Knox County Corn Fest. We will publish more winners and pictures in next weeks issue as well.