Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival

This is a family-oriented event. There will be approximately 130 handmade arts and crafts booths and food vendors. You can enjoy the favorites such as steamed cooked sweet corn, BBQ chicken, pork chop sandwiches, a variety of other offerings and fresh cut watermelon. There will be art and crafts for everyone including candles, wood items, jewelry, quilts, clothing, honey and salsa.  There will be community service information booths as well.

All day both days, there are activities for children such as pony rides and train rides.  A cornhole tournament is also planned with a City of Fairborn vs Wright Patt challenge in lieu of the annual corn eating contest!  There will be free entertainment both days in the Festival Music Pavilion area. Parking and admission are also free.

In 1982, the first Sweet Corn Festival was held at the Fairborn Lion Den Park in Rona Hills. The following year, the festival was moved to the grounds of Central Jr. High School. In all subsequent years, the festival has been held at Community Park. The festival continued to grow, from only 40 booths with an attendance of a few thousand people to approximately 170 booths with an attendance of over 45,000 people today.

Many traditions of the festival were started the first year. They began with the ribbon cutting by the King and Queen of the festival, which signals the beginning of the festival, and continued with, free entertainment, numerous arts and crafts booths, food booths, and the famous steam cooked sweet corn.  In lieu of the corn eating contest, we have added a cornhole contest.

The children can look forward to pony rides and train rides. Everyone can enjoy the 1840’s Pioneer Village with candle making, silversmithing, blacksmithing, stockades and black powder gun demonstrations.

Through the hard work, dedication, and determination of many volunteers and workers, the Fairborn Sweet Corn Festival is one of the major festivals in Southwest Ohio.