Rossville

Tall Corn Festival

Sponsored by: Rossville Community Development Committee

2009

Festival Recap

"Corn Gone Wild"

August 7, 8, 9, 2009

ARTICLE: "Rossville Celebrates Corn"

Tall Corn Festival includes parades, contests, and of course, corn

By: Bill Blankenship / Topeka Capital-Journal

Appeared: August 5, 2009 / www.cjonline.com

 Unless you planted your corn seeds weeks ago, you don't have a chance of winning the tall corn contest Friday on Day 1 of Rossville's annual Tall Corn Festival, but don't toss those kernels in the trash.

You can use them to practice for the corn-spitting contest, but remember the cash prizes are awarded for distance not accuracy.

Since 1929, Kaw Valley families have celebrated at the Tall Corn Festival, and the 80th anniversary edition again will have all the elements of an old-fashioned, small-town celebration.

The festival gets started in the northwest Shawnee County town at 2 p.m. Friday in the Rossville City Park with craft and food vendors, art display and children's activities. From 5 to 7 p.m., there will be a petting zoo and free hot dogs, and a sand volleyball tournament begins at 6 p.m.

However, the opening evening's main activities will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Joe Campbell Memorial Stadium, where contests will be staged, including the tallest corn stalk event, the corn-spitting competition, a corn-on-the-cob eating challenge and a talent show. Watermelon also will be given away at 6:30 p.m.

Day 1 of the Tall Corn Festival will end with a dance for junior high school-age pupils from 9 to 11 p.m. at the tennis courts. Admission is $3.

Saturday's morning activities include a fun run, breakfast and sand volleyball and softball tournaments in the park, while on Main Street there will be a kids parade at 9:45 a.m. and the grand parade at 10 a.m. A barbecue feed and mini-train rides will follow the parade.

Activities shift back in the afternoon to the park with water tug-of-war from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m. At 1 p.m. there will be a garden lawn tractor pull south of the high school, a dinner and silent auction from 4 to 7 p.m. and bingo at 4:30 p.m. at Dekat Hall across from the park.

A street dance downtown featuring the band Straight Shot will be from 8 p.m. to midnight on Main Street, where there will be a beer and frozen drink garden for those 21 and older. Admission to the dance is $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 6 to 12 and free for children 5 and younger. Discounted $7 adult tickets are available through Thursday at Wehner's Thriftway and Friday evening at the park.

The Tall Corn Festival ends Sunday, starting with a community worship service at 8:30 a.m. at Cambell Memorial Field, where a co-rec softball tournament will begin at 11 a.m.

At noon there will be a turtle race -- bring your own turtle -- in the park and a Rossville High School alumni potluck lunch at 12:30 at the school. Also at 12:30 p.m., a frozen t-shirt contest will be staged in the park. In it, contestants will try to be the first to put on a t-shirt that has been soaked in water then frozen.

Starting at 1 p.m. will be a sidewalk chalk contest, a sand volleyball tournament for 7th- through 8th-graders, a horseshoe tournament and a Splash Bash at the Rossville Community Pool.

This article can be viewed at:

http://cjonline.com/news/local/2009-08-05/rossville_celebrates_corn