What does a town of about 23,000 people look like when you instantly add 35,000 more?  It looks like the Corn Festival!  Since 1981, a small group of dedicated volunteers has been organizing and providing our biggest day of the year.  People come from all over to attend this festival.  The Corn Festival website (http://www.cornfestival.net/ ) says this about it: Corn Festival  was rated the best one-day festival in Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Festivals Association.  The website also gives the history of this celebration and tells of some of the wonderful community projects that benefit from it.

And what a day it is!  The main streets are blocked off to traffic the night before, and the Festival is supposed to start at 8. But I know many people who go downtown earlier, to beat the heat and the crowds.  There is so much going on there!  Entertainment, lots of good food, artisans, crafts people and antique dealers from all over have such an array of items,  it literally takes all day to see it all!  300 juried craft and antique vendors will certainly  have something for everybody.

It’s fun to walk around with no traffic and just shop.  The vendors are always great people who will talk to you about their products.  And of course, being in this valley, surrounded by corn, there’s CORN!  Corn is cooked up and served up in every way people can find to fix corn. 

Read the Corn Festival’s website http://www.cornfestival.net/ for lots more information.  While you’re in town, enjoy some of our local history by stopping in at the Shippensburg Historical Society, in our beautiful home, the Stewart House, at 52 W. King Street.  We’ll be open that day from 10-4, with docents (museum tour guides) available to show you the house and our great collection. 

Corn Festival points out that pets are not allowed on the grounds.  The Festival will be held rain or shine from 8-5 on August 28, 2010. (Always the last Saturday in August.) Several side streets are closed to parking so that in case of an emergency, emergency vehicles could get thru.  But there are lots of other places to park, and the Corn Festival website lists some.

Come to Shippensburg, eat corn, have fun, and enjoy a lazy Saturday strolling around at a great Festival.