Corn Boil draws thousands to Sugar Grove

SUGAR GROVE –  As the week wore on, Scott Weber had to deal each morning with the increasingly insistent questioning from his children.

"All week long, they were waking up and asking, 'When's the Corn  Boil? How many days to Corn Boil?'" said Weber, with a laugh. "Coming here is an annual thing for us, and we love it."

Saturday, Weber, his wife and four of his five children, all of Sugar Grove, were among the thousands that turned out to take in the hours of entertainment, ride some carnival rides, watch fireworks and chow down on some sweet corn and other eats during Sugar Grove's annual Corn Boil festival.

The festival continues through Sunday afternoon, with more live music, the carnival, KidsZone and food court, as well as the annual firefighters water fight.

Now in its 44th year, the Corn Boil has for decades drawn huge crowds to the village in southwestern Kane County on the final weekend of July.

And this year, festival organizers have said they are hoping three consecutive days of sunshine and hot, summery weather will help them pack in the people by the tens of thousands yet again.

Last year, heavy thunderstorms washed away much of the festival's business, cutting attendance by more than half over what past years had seen. But on Friday and Saturday, at least, clear skies dominated, and the people appeared to have responded.

Weber said the pleasant, summer-like weather had played a role in his family's decision to attend the festival on Friday night and again Saturday, with plans to stay from early afternoon until the end of the fireworks show that night.

And, as of Saturday afternoon, the Weber family had tentative plans to return to Volunteer Park near John Shields Elementary School again on Sunday.

"A strong possibility," Weber said.

With thousands of people filing through the park every hour, Corn Boil also remained a strong attraction for local businesses and organizations seeking to make some sales, increase their visibility and spread the word.

All told, slightly less than 100 vendors, local businesses and community organizations  rented booths at the Corn Boil's community expo.

For the team from Village Bible Church in Sugar Grove, the Corn Boil offered a place for them to tell the community about themselves, the programs offered at their church and to spread the message of the Gospel in a neutral venue.

"The Word (of God) has changed our lives, and we want to invite everyone else to experience it, too," said Scott Capp, outreach pastor for Village Bible Church.

The church sponsored some of the events in the Corn Boil's KidZone, which featured activities and entertainment acts geared specifically to children. And Capp said Village Bible Church also contributed volunteers to help staff the KidZone, as well.

Altogether, Capp said 50 volunteers from the church manned the church's informational booth or worked elsewhere at the Corn Boil over the weekend.

It marked the second year the church had participated in Corn Boil.

"Any chance we can get to to be a part of things going on in this community, and let them know what we offer, and show them the love of God, we're going to embrace it," Capp said.