By JOLENE CRAIG
Ohio Correspondent

MARIETTA, Ohio — Visitors purchased thousands of ears of homegrown sweet corn-on-the-cob during the fourth annual Marietta Sweet Corn Festival at Armory Square July 15-16.

“We sold more than 4,000 by (Saturday) afternoon, so we are going to exceed last year’s sales,” said Dan Warren, co-owner of Cowboy Concessions of Whipple.

The stand has volunteered its cooking service every year of the festival to aid in allowing the event committee to raise as much funds as possible. “I know we’ve sold more corn, but this year it seems like there are a lot fewer people,” Warren said. “I think the festival has been hit by the economy because people don’t have the extra money to come to things like this.”

Glenn Newman, co-founder of the festival, said this year’s event was popular.
“It’s extraordinary,” he said. “Everyone seems to be having a good time and all of the games are filled.”

Newman said the festival was started in 2008 as a way to get the community involved in locally raised food and to help students who are interested in agriculture. “Our mission from the beginning was to help the students in the FFA,” he said.

Money raised during the festival goes to its scholarship program to reward students involved in the local FFA who plan to pursue higher education in agriculture. Waterford resident Brady Campbell received this year’s scholarship and plans to earn a degree in animal science, with hopes of becoming a large-animal veterinarian.

All of the corn for the festivals are grown at the Witten Family Farm near Beverly, Ohio, on Ohio 60 and are donated to the festival to keep costs down. Between the $1 ears of corn and free admission, the cost of a family to attend the festival was low.

Jessie Bigley, co-chair of the festival committee, said having the corn at such a low cost and not charging for admission helps keep the event family-friendly. “Four years ago a group of citizens got together and decided we wanted to try to have an old-fashioned festival to give families something fun to do,” she said. “We also wanted to make sure it would be low in cost and celebrate Marietta’s farming heritage.”

The Washington County area was once a “truck farming” location, she said, and crops including beans, potatoes, tomatoes and, of course, sweet corn were prominent in the Ohio River Valley.

“That heritage is very important because it is why we are here and we need to teach it and remember it,” Bigley said.

According to an Associated Press report, sweet corn grown in Ohio is starting to make its way to consumers after a wet spring delayed its arrival at farm stands. The corn typically is available by early July, but rainy weather in April and May delayed planting this year.

Horticulture specialist Brad Bergefurd with The Ohio State University extension said a steady supply is expected to begin this week and last until fall. He says more recent rains should mean the quality of the corn will be good, according to the AP.

A spokesman for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation added sweet corn is a small part of Ohio’s corn crop, with about 15,000 acres planted. That compares with an average of 4 million acres of field corn.

The organization staging the Marietta festival wanted to highlight its success in the area of farming and bring people together to celebrate that in a spirit of fun and community. Along with food at the festival – which kicked off Friday night with music (and corn) and concluded Saturday evening – were children’s activities that had more than 20 children participate in a corn-on-the-cob eating contest, face painting, crafts and a petting zoo.

One of the newest items at last year’s festival was sweet corn ice cream by Uncle Dan’s Old Fashioned Ice Cream, which did well again this year, said owner Dan Lang.

“This year it’s actually selling,” he said. “I think last year people were surprised and didn’t know what to think, but this year people seem to like it.”
Sistersville resident Sophia Judge tried a sample of the festival-only flavor after riding a motorcycle to Saturday’s event. “I’ve never heard of sweet corn ice cream before,” she said. “It’s very good, but it’s doesn’t have as much corn flavor as I expected.”

Judge then ordered chocolate ice cream.