CORNWALL, Ontario – This isn’t your father’s Cornfest.
The 2014 resurrection of the once popular summertime festival will include the likes of Touch a Truck, The Big Tug and the Wall of Corn.
They all sound like something out of a horror film – but nothing could be further from the truth.
Paul St. Onge, owner of Mocktails in Lamoureux Park, has instead come up with some novel ways to attract people to the event that runs Aug. 15 to 17.
It mirrors previous Cornfest events that used to take place on Pitt Street in name only.
This time around Lamoureux Park will be the focal point. Residents, especially children, will be allowed to get up close and personal with municipal dump trucks, street sweepers and the like (Touch a Truck).
There will also be a tug of war competition between locally organized teams (The Big Tug) and residents are being urged to bring in a cob of corn so that it can be included in a huge Wall of Corn.
“We’re hoping people will take pictures of themselves in front of it, and send them out on social media, so we can actually show off Cornwall’s wall of corn,” said St. Onge.
Cornfest will also include plenty of corn from local producers, live entertainment, and a chance for groups of people to get together and try to pull an 18-wheeler with the help of some rope and strong friends.
The highlight, though, said St. Onge, will be all the municipal vehicles on display.
“It’s about allowing the kids to get into them and up on them,” he said. “Normally they might be a little afraid to approach them, when they’re working. but we want to show people what their tax dollars pay for.”
More information on Cornfest, which is free, can be found on Facebook and here.
Also, St. Onge and Mocktails will be hosting a free event following the Canada Day fireworks next week. A giant movie screen is being erected to play the movie Grease right after the fireworks finish.
