One of most community-oriented, family-fun inducing, corny weekends of the year is upon us: the 40th edition of the Urbana Sweetcorn festival.
We answer the questions you are wondering if you are planning to take your family out to “Sweetcorn” this weekend:
When is the festival?
The festival will open at 5 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 28, and will close at 11 p.m. It will continue on Saturday, August 29, from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
How much does the festival cost?
Admission is free, and there are many free activities (see below). What you need to pay for: food and inflatables. Arts and crafts and other stuff will also be for sale.
Where do we park?
Plenty of FREE parking is available at the lots around Lincoln Square, the Urbana Free Library, and another spots close to downtown. Here is a map of the festival grounds and parking around them.
What’s the deal with the corn?
Corn costs one ticket (the equivalent of a $1).
- Around 30,000 ears of sweet corn are consumed each year at the festival.
- They get the corn from a nearby Illinois farm.
- They use an antique steam engine to cook the corn.
What is free?
Activities: The best area for families will be the One Community Together area. Check out the musical instrument petting zoo, Japanese calligraphy, star gazing, old fashioned games — all free. Here’s the full schedule for activities:
FRIDAY AUGUST 28TH
(6:00-10:30) Gazing the Rings of Saturn and the Man on the Moon — Free
Parkland College’s William M. Staerkel Planetarium will bring one of its telescopes to the Festival once again this year to give everyone an opportunity to view the Rings of Saturn and the Man on the Moon. Where else can you scan our local galaxy and also listen to the Urbana-Champaign community’s great musical talent.
(6:30-8:30) Shodo, Japanese Black Ink Calligraphy with Seiran Chiba — Free
Join Japanese calligrapher, Seiran Chiba, for an evening of demonstrations and conversations about the art of Shodo, large-scale black ink calligraphy that is made possible through the University of Illinois’ Japan House.
SATURDAY AUGUST 29TH
(11:00-12:15) Meet Mr. Box Turtle — Free
The Urbana Park District’s Anita Purves Nature Center will introduce children of all ages to Illinois’ favorite native reptile, the Eastern Box Turtle. Come meet Mr. Box Turtle who always has a smile on his face.
(11:00-5:30) Veggie Stamps, Seed Balls, and Much MORE! — Free
Champaign’s Prosperity Gardens, dedicated to cultivating healthy communities through education, employment and collaboration, has several hands-on children’s activities planned for this year’s One Community Stage including creating veggie stamps, seed balls, and much more. They will also bring their mobile market for anyone looking to purchase vegetables from their local community garden.
(11:00-1:00) Old Fashioned Toys and Games from the American Prairie — Free
The staff of the Museum of the Grand Prairie will give kids and adults an opportunity to play with early American toys and games that would have played with by young children growing up on the country’s grand prairies.
(11:30-3:30) Instrument Petting Zoo — Free
The Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, University Bands, and Community for the Arts are joining forces again this year to give every interested child the opportunity to test drive a selection of woodwind, brass, string and percussion instruments that they might like to learn to play.
(11:30-5:30) Early American Popcorn Making — Free
Popcorn! Get your hot popcorn here! The Champaign County Historical Museum will again bring its historic popcorn wagon back to the One Community Together stage for another wonderful summer day. Learn more about this unique vehicle and the museum that cares for it.
(12:45-2:00) Constructing Decorated Music Shakers from Around the World — Free
Move to the music! People around the world use percussion instruments to “feel the beat.” Join the Spurlock Museum staff as you play percussion instruments from around the world and decorate your own musical shaker to take home.
(1:00-3:00) Shodo, Japanese Black Ink Calligraphy with Seiran Chiba — Free
Join Japanese calligrapher, Seiran Chiba, who is a special guest of the University’s Japan House for an afternoon of hands-on demonstrations and conversations about the art of Japanese black ink calligraphy for children of all ages.
(1:00-3:00) Building Didgeridoos with Sam Gingher — Free
Join Sam Gingher, a special friend of the Sousa Archives and Center for American Music, as he helps children build and decorate Didgeridoos made from PVC pipe, and teach them to play this very special wind instrument developed by the Indigenous Australians of northern Australia.
Farm Bureau Agriculture Zone: Will feature a range of fun farm-themed activities for children.
Music:Basically while the festival is open, someone is on one of the three stages. One of my favorite “acts” at the festival is when the three local high school marching bands (Urbana, Central and Centennial) play (starts 4:15 p.m. Saturday).
The three national headliners are The Church (“Under the Milky Way”), The Psychedelic Furs (“Pretty in Pink”) both on Friday; and Berlin (“Take My Breath Away”). See the full line up of live music.
Vintage car show: if your kids love cars, check out the motor muster on Saturday.
What is the deal with the inflatables?
Bring your wallet! Many inflatables are one ticket, but they range up to 4 tickets a piece. You can purchase tickets at one of three ticket tents at the festival and they are an even $1 for 1 ticket. The tickets are the same as the food tickets, get them all in one place.
What’s the food?
There will be tons of food — all different kinds, from Greek to Thai to ice cream. Roughly 2/3 of the food vendors are from local restaurants/food trucks (Siam Terrace, Dancing Dog, Lacy’s BBQ, Dragon Fire Pizza, Piato Cafe and Roks Tacos), and the other third is fair food. You must buy tickets to purchase food. All the food vendors are listed online.
What’s your favorite part of the Urbana Sweetcorn Festival?
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