Eden, N.Y. (WBEN) - People in Western New York mark their calendars for certain festivals each year, whether it's the Taste of Buffalo, the Erie County Fair, or the Eden Corn Festival, to name a few.
Corn on the cob will be arriving in tractors this weekend in the Town of Eden. "The corn is excellent," said Eden Corn Festival President Jeff Winter on WBEN on Thursday. "It's just as good as it's ever been."
This year marks the 59th annual Eden Corn festival. See a full schedule of events HERE.
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"Every year we try to change things up a little bit. We try to add some new attractions. This year they've added a corn festival cream ale. Corn is one of the ingredients in it." Hamburg Brewing came up with the ale just for the festival.
In addition, there is boiled corn, roasted corn, corn chowder, corn ice cream, kettle corn, and the list goes on and on.
Now that peak season is here for corn on the cob, what is the best way to prepare it? It's debatable, but Winter prefers to boil it with the husks on. "When it's done, you take it out, burn your hands, peel it back, and you have something to hold onto. Put butter and salt and pepper on it, and it's great!," he said.
The secret to corn shucking can be learned at the festival. There's a contest for children and adults as well as a media corn shucking competition Saturday afternoon.
For the first time, the Eden Corn Festival is getting some competition this year. Officials in North Tonawanda recently announced an inaugural corn festival on Saturday, August 19 at the N.T. City Market on Payne Avenue.
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"That actually makes me feel good," said Winter. "I welcome it because it's highlighting agriculture, and that's what our festival is about. I'm hoping we can have a little competition down the road to see who really has the best corn!"
The Eden Corn Festival is held on the American Legion Post 880 grounds on Legion Drive in Eden directly off Route US-62.