Corn eaters will have their eyes on the prize come Cornfest Saturday


By Cole Parkinson Taber Times


competition on the horizon. As one of the longest-running events at


T


Cornfest, the corn eating competition has seen people pack Confederation Park’s con- fines for years as people look to catch a glimpse at the best in the business. With corn donated by Johnson Fresh


Farms, competitors can enter into their age categories whether they are six to eight, nine to 12, 13 to 17 or over 18. “They sign up on the day.We have up to eight participants for each age group.We used to only do three age categories but since we have had such interest from younger kids that wanted us to do it,so we added a fourth,”said organizer Stacy Peleskey. Defending last year’s crowns are Jenner Workman in six to eight, Kiernan Gyepesi in nine to 12,Gary Kirkwood in 13 to 17 and Kelly Hatch in 18 and up. Before corn kernels begin flying


around Confederation Park, local grow- ers can enter the Rogers Sugar/Lantic Inc.Corn Tasting competition. “For the tasting, it’s all the growers. Everyone can bring in up to two vari-


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aber corn eaters have already started licking their chops with this year’s Cornfest South Country Co-op Corn Eating


eties of what they have and they enter that for the tasting,”explained Peleskey,who organizes both events. Last year, Johnson’s took home the first


place prize with Shimbashi finishing in the second spot and the Taber Food Bank’s veg- etable garden rounding out the top three. Handing out the top prizes are selected judges from the community who each get a good sampling of the corn submitted. While the roster of judges hasn’t been set


yet, organizers are working towards nar- rowing down the field. “Not yet, I need to get going on that.


Usually, there are six judges and I generally ask people around town, business owners, town council and M.D. council,”added Peleskey.“I try and mix it up.We have some people who like to do it and volunteer every year and we’re happy to have them back.We find you can only eat so much corn and it is a big event. It also allows us to get some different perspectives on differ-


ent corn.” While Peleskey’s passion for both events is evident, she is also looking to get some help moving forward. Whether it be a complete takeover of the


event or just some assistance, she is hoping to see some sort of help for future corn tasting and eating events. “This will be my sixth year doing the


event and I enjoy it. It is fun and I don’t mind volunteering my time but I would like maybe someone from the Cornfest com- mittee or chamber of commerce to take over or even just be an assistant.I am happy to participate in it but just in case of some years if I’m not around or we’re busy. I also work as a midwife so if I am on call and if have to run away, it would be nice to have someone who could fill my shoes,”she said. If you are interested in taking over the


event or providing some assistance, get in contact with Peleskey at stacypeleskey@gmail.com. The Rogers Sugar/Lantic Inc.Corn


Tasting Competition gets underway at 12:30 p.m. beside the Cornfest Stage. Right after at 1 p.m., the South


Country Co-op Corn Eating competi- tion begins in front of the stage. Sign-ups for the corn eating com- petition begins at 9 a.m. at the Taber chamber tent in Confederation Park.


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