The Hoopeston Sweet Corn Festival was back and rocking over the holiday weekend after missing last year due to the pandemic. P.J. Clingenpeel of the Hoopeston Jaycees says not only were the people hungry for the return of events like this, the organizations like the Jaycees were too. Simply put, they need them.
Audio PlayerAUDIO: This festival is our, the Hoopston Jaycees big fundraiser of the year. This is what helps pay for all the other things we do throughout the year, all the projects we put on in as a group our community. So missing that hurt us, and I know it hurt everybody else. And people just like to do things.
How much corn was given away over the weekend in Hoopeston? Clingenpeel says, let’s count it.
AUDIO: I order roughly about 1,000 to 1,200 crates of corn. They’re four dozen ears per crate. So you’re talking 80 to 90 thousand pounds. It’s more than a trailer can hold.
Clingenpeel is the Hoopeston Jaycees corn chairman. He says he’s now been watching over the festival corn line for about the last decade.
