HOOPESTON — Sweetcorn lovers from all over will return to Hoopeston this weekend for the 82nd year, and there is a special addition to this year’s festival presented by the Hoopeston Jaycees.
“It’s seeing the community come together and just all the families come together,” said Chairman Kayla Goble. “There are people that come from out of state, and I think it’s just nice that they just all come together and see everybody happy and having fun.”
There will be a special unveiling of a mural created by Lindsey Franz at 5 p.m. Tuesday at McFerren Park by the basketball court and the Jaycees’ storage building.
Franz is excited for the unveiling. She spent 8 days making this mural.
“At the end of this summer, we nailed down the final design after many tweaks and additions to capture the festival just right,” she said. “The mural is going to be hung at McFerren Park on the south wall of Hoopeston Jaycees building. It is 8 (feet) by 20 (feet) in size. When you look at the mural, you will see the greeting text in the top left, ‘Welcome to the National Sweetcorn Festival.’”
Franz said the mural depicts “two up close ears of corn,” with “healthy foliage” under, and a “field fading into the distance.” In addition to the corn, there is a ‘bright blue sky with clouds.” Franz says the rest of the mural depicts four Polaroid photos which depict something memorable and cherished about the corn festival.
The first Polaroid shows the Ferris wheel at sunset, the second shows a steam engine “cooking corn in steel troughs of water.”
While the third shows a closeup of the parade lined on both sides of the route in downtown Hoopeston.
Franz says it shows, “Where the Miss National Sweetheart waves from the back of a Corvette. The Miss National Sweetheart sash drapes across the top. Toostie rolls in the bottom left corner, a traditional parade candy.”
And the final photo is of the classic fair food favorite: the funnel cake. She adds there is a lemon shake up sticker floating in the top left corner as well on the final fourth photo.
“Several corn kernels can be seen floating amongst the photos as well,” Franz said.
The 2026 Sweetheart pageant contestants will also be at the unveiling on Tuesday.
“It’s just something I feel like Hoopeston’s never really had in the park, so I think it’s just cool to have something like that to do with the festival,” Goble said.
And then the festival fun continues with the gates opening, vendors, and the carnival on Thursday night, starting at 5 p.m. and running until 10 p.m. The gates open at the same time on Friday.
On Saturday, the festival fun kicks off bright and early at 6 a.m. with the flea market opening, followed by the Sweetcorn 5k Classic registration, and runs afterward.
“The gate fee will get you access to the midway if you just want to walk around the midway,” Goble said the gate fee varies by age and can be found with the schedule online. “There’s like little shops that we have, like vendors that come in. You can go and see all the vendors, get your sweet corn.”
“I think it’s like six ears, half a dozen to a pan” she said of how much free buttery goodness will be available.
The classic car show takes place from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.
And at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday the Grand Parade begins in downtown Hoopeston.
Free sweet corn will be available from 1:30 to 5 p.m. on Saturday, and 12 to 4 p.m. on Sunday and Monday.
“We are known as, like, the Sweet Corn Capital or whatever,” Gable said. “So it kind of incorporates that. It not only [represents] the festival, but like just Hoopeston itself.”
The National Sweetheart pageant finals will take place on Sunday evening, but there are still events happening on Monday, like the ‘Cream of the Crop’ baby contest.
“I have never attended, but this will be my first year,” Franz said. “Painting this mural, even looking at it, makes you excited to go.”
If you would like to donate to keep the corn festival alive, you can do so on their website www.hoopestonjaycees.org or checks can be mailed to the Hoopeston Jaycees, PO Box 28, Hoopeston, IL 60942.