Corn Fest expected to drive thousands to downtown DeKalb giving boost to local economy

DeKALB – Corn Fest marks the end of summer for many. The festival in downtown DeKalb is set for Friday through Sunday.

Carnival rides, family-friendly activities, corn on the cob and live music are all part of the fun. Organizers behind the event anticipate festivities will drive thousands to the city, giving a boost to the local economy.

Lisa Angel, the festival’s chairwoman, said she’s excited about the annual event.

“We have a great lineup,” Angel said. “We have [country artists] Scotty McCreery and Spencer Crandall coming this year. This has been driving a lot of people from out of town and even out of state to come for it. So it’s wonderful to see not only our local people enjoying it, but coming from out of areas that may have never seen DeKalb before and getting to see all the great things we have in our city.”

Angel said the generous support of the community is greatly appreciated.

The board is relying on more than 270 volunteers to keep the festival going this year, organizers said.

“It’s such a great community,” Angel said. “We have Northern [Illinois University] that comes and helps. We have a lot of our community members come down and help volunteer because they know we’re one of the last free admission festivals and it depends on having our volunteers and sponsors to help keep it running.”

“So, it’s wonderful to see not only our local people enjoying it but coming from out of areas that may have never seen DeKalb before and get to see all the great things we have in our city.”

—  Lisa Angel

Angel said the board is equally as proud to have the business community’s support with the festival as well.

“We definitely couldn’t do it without the businesses not only monetarily supporting us but many do trade, help us [and] supply water,” Angel said. “The Egyptian Theatre helps us. They do the Community Stage inside. All the downtown businesses allow us to close down the street for three days and have the festival downtown. We couldn’t have this if we didn’t have the business support.”

DeKalb Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Matt Duffy said the business community generally feels Corn Fest is a great boost to the local economy.

“It’s obviously a draw not only to people locally but people outside the area,” Duffy said. “Anytime you can have an influx of new potential customers, it’s a great thing for all the businesses in the area.”

Duffy said the Chamber is supportive of family-friendly events in the city’s downtown.

“Anytime you can have different events and activities in the area that’s going to help our local business economy, we’re definitely in support of that,” Duffy said. “This one’s obviously … family-friendly. There’s stuff for all ages and different types of activities. ... There’s just a lot of different things that will draw people down to the area. We’re excited to have them in DeKalb and for the locals, as well, for the chance to celebrate a longtime festival in the downtown.”

Egyptian Theatre Executive Director Alex Nerad said the theater always is excited for Corn Fest.

“It is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the jewel of DeKalb, the Egyptian Theatre, to the thousands of visitors that attend Corn Fest each year,” Nerad said. “Since the installation of air conditioning in the Egyptian Theatre in 2020, we have been host to the free Corn Fest Community Stage that features individual and large group performances from around the community. We look forward to sharing our upcoming fall shows with all of the Corn Fest visitors.”

Tapa La Luna General Manager Hana Green said restaurant sales triple during Corn Fest.

“It definitely benefits us by bringing different people to town,” Green said. “You get people that are coming from all over the county and all over the region that are coming and participating in these festivals. So, they get to see the nice things that we have to offer downtown, us being included in that.”

At Tapa La Luna, Green said the restaurant supports family-friendly events coming to downtown DeKalb more.

“We’re a very community-oriented, community-minded small business downtown,” Green said. “For being a restaurant, we get to participate with many different parts of the community in a little bit more of an intimate way. So, it’s always a conversation of what’s happening in DeKalb.”

Jeff Dobie, owner of Fatty’s Pub and Grille, shared that sentiment.

“There’s additional traffic everywhere you go,” Dobie said. “Even if Fatty’s is outside of the traditional realm of Corn Fest, if you’re going to Corn Fest and you’re trying to find a place to eat, there’s just more traffic. So, I think everyone should benefit from it if done the right way.”

Dobie said he and his staff are prepared for Corn Fest.

“We have extra staff on,” Dobie said. “We are looking forward to it. It’s a great weekend, great event. We will be overstaffed. Hopefully, there will be plenty of people in town.”