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Residents bring appetite for food, fun to Marietta Sweet Corn Festival

Photo by Wayne Towner Sebastian Skinner, 2, of Marietta, played in a sandbox filled with corn kernels Saturday during the Marietta Sweet Corn Festival.

MARIETTA — With the slogan “Still a buck an ear,” touting the $1 per ear of corn price for its namesake staple, the Marietta Sweet Corn Festival drew many visitors to Muskingum Park on Saturday.

The family-oriented event began Friday evening and concluded Saturday evening after two days of food, entertainment, activities and attractions in downtown Marietta.

Cara Skinner, of Marietta, was attending the festival Saturday with her sons, Sebastian, 2, and Sawyer, 2 months. It was the third year Skinner has brought her family to the event at Muskingum Park.

“We’ve come every year since (Sebastian) was born and he loves it. We have a good time,” she said.

Skinner is pleased to see the festival continuing as a way to bring the community together and offer some “free fun.” She also likes the sweet corn at the center of the event.

Photo by Wayne Towner One of the popular activities Saturday at the Marietta Sweet Corn Festival was the corn eating contest, which was divided into age categories.

“The corn is the reason to come,” she said with a laugh.

Josh Thompson, of Waterford, was attending the festival with his son, Zaiden, 2. Thompson has a couple of old cars and came in primarily for the festival’s first car and truck show, but was enjoying the other attractions Saturday on his first visit to the festival.

Thompson said he will be interested in coming back in the future.

“It’s good family-oriented fun,” he said.

Jessie Bigley, co-chair of the festival, said this marks the 10th year for the festival and she was glad to see interest and attendance remaining strong and even growing.

Photo by Wayne Towner Josh Thompson, left, and Zaiden, 2, of Waterford, have some homemade cookie dough ice cream at the Marietta Sweet Corn Festival on Saturday.

Among the new additions to this year’s festival was a car and truck show hosted by the Noble County Cruzers, which brought in around 100 vehicles for display at Muskingum Park.

Bigley said this year’s festival kicked off Friday with a great crowd.

“(Friday) night went fantastic. We sold 2,505 ears (of corn) in four hours. We had a big crowd with great music,” she said.

She praised the support of sponsors like Witten Farm Market, which provides the sweet corn for the event. Even after a decade, the price remained the same at $1 per ear for attendees. She also praised the volunteers who make the event possible, estimating that around 120 volunteers were giving their time over the course of the weekend event.

“It takes 56 (volunteers) in the corn tent, we have seven two-hour shifts,” she said, adding another 70 volunteers helped with children’s activities.

Photo by Wayne Towner Volunteers Larry Myers, left, and Kenny Pach, right, prepare rows of sweet corn for cooking Saturday at the Marietta Sweet Corn Festival in Muskingum Park.

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