30th annual Corn Festival to be held Thursday-Saturday

   The 30th Annual Louisiana Corn Festival will be held in Bunkie  this Thursday-Saturday. The festivities will begin with a Carnival Family Night on Thursday and will end with a street dance on  Saturday night.

    A highlight of the Corn Festival will be an  attempt to break the world corn-shucking record.

   There will be a $3 per person admission charge for adults 21 and over on Friday and Saturday. Visitors under 21 will be charged $1. Tickets will be required to enter all areas of the festival grounds, including the carnival. There will be no admission fee for Family Night on Thursday.

   “This is always an exciting time of the year for Bunkie as we prepare for the festival,” Bunkie Chamber of Commerce President Tiffany Tuminello said. “Our volunteers have been working tirelessly to make this year’s festival better for the festival-goers.” 

   Haas Whittington will serve as the festival Grand Marshal. Whittington was the festival’s first Grand Marshal in 1987 and has been a supporter of the annual event since then.

Music Al lineup

  The musical lineup includes Todd O’Neil from 6-8:30 p.m. Friday, playing country and rock music. Chee-Weez -- a popular show band with crazy costumes, giant video walls, lasers and lights -- will perform a variety of music genres from 9 p.m. until midnight.

  The J.C. Melancon Band will get the music started at 4 p.m. Saturday, performing classic rock “oldies.” Travis Matt will perform zydeco music from 6-8:30 p.m., followed by the     Category 6 band  from 9 p.m. to midnight, playing hits from the 1990s with a black light and neon glow party.

  “Again this year, we made significant changes in the music lineup, which includes music from the 1980s, country, zydeco and classic rock” Tuminello said. “We are aware of people traveling from Baton Rouge and Lafayette just to see the main bands on Friday and Saturday night.”

  As in past years, the carnival area is open to all visitors. Bracelets entitling the wearer to unlimited rides for the entire day can be purchased for $20 each on Thursday and Friday nights. On Saturday the cost of the bands will be $25.

   The bracelets are good from 5-10 p.m. on Thursday, 5-10 p.m. on Friday, and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday.

  Opening ceremonies for the festival will be at 5:15 p.m. Friday with the introduction of the 2015 Louisiana Corn Festival Queens and the announcement of the “Corn Farmer of the Year.”

   Food and arts & crafts vendor booths will be open during the event.

   A softball tournament will begin Friday afternoon and conclude on Saturday.

  One major change in the festival will be 12th Annual Corn Festival Children’s Wagon Parade. Instead of being held on Friday, it has been moved to 11 a.m. Saturday and will be held after the City-Wide which is set to roll at 10 a.m.

 

   Of course, a summer festival without contests wouldn’t be much of a festival. The Corn Festival has several set for Saturday.

   At noon, there’s the corn-shucking contest under the pavilion. There will be an individual contest, but there will also be a new team event to try to set a new world’s record.

   Teams of four will attempt to break the current Guinness world record of 31 ears in one minute.

   At 12:30 p.m. the individual Corn Cooking Contest will begin. The corn-eating contest is set for 1 p.m. under the pavilion.

   The pirogue races will be held on Bayou Huffpauir starting at 2:30 p.m. There is a $5 entry fee to participate in the race.  

   “We have a new group of volunteers who have stepped up this year to help the long-time dedicated volunteers run the different events at the festival,” Tuminello said. “I want to thank each of them for their time and dedication they have given to make the Bunkie festival affordable to everyone.”

    For more information or to register for contests please visit www.bunkiechamber.net/lacornfest or like us on Facebook.