For the past five years, Wessels’ Family Farm has grown, harvested and delivered the corn that festivalgoers at Corn Fest in DeKalb enjoy when at the annual end-of-summer festival.

It’s become a bit of a tradition that festival organizers turn to the Waterman farmers, who also run a farmstand in town, for the job. Previously, Del Monte used to provide the ears for the corn boil.

Brandon Wessels said it means a lot to him and his family to be able to provide hundreds of ears of corn for the festival.

“A huge part of it is the sense of community, and that’s who we are,” Brandon Wessels said. “We’re all about family, we’re about community.”

In its 48th year, Corn Fest returns to downtown DeKalb Friday through Sunday, bringing with it a mix of traditional family fun that festivalgoers have come to expect, including a carnival, craft fest, beer garden, corn boil, and more.

The festival takes over the city’s downtown along Lincoln Highway, between First and Fourth streets and Grove and Locust streets.

Corn Fest Chairwoman Lisa Angel said she hopes people enjoy themselves if they go.

“It’s a small town, but it’s a big festival in a small town, so people that have not been here before come down like I never would have imagined,” Angel said. “This to be what it is, I think it’s great that we have the tradition, yet can have something for everyone.”

This year’s soundstage is headlined on Friday by 7th Heaven from 9 to 11 p.m. Saturday brings a lineup of national acts, including Rob Base, Young MC, and Color Me Badd, all of whom perform together as “The I Love the 90s Tour.”

Other performances will include Too Hype Crew; Infunktious, Interstate Nineties; Austin Hopkins; Mark Harrison; In the Stix Acoustic; Taylorville, an Unofficial Live Tribute to Taylor Swift; Riplock; and Leroy Winn.

General admission viewing is free. But premium access to the soundstage and beer garden is available at $10 a day, or $25 for the weekend.

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Wessels' Family Farm owners Rob Wessels (right) and his son Brandon try some of their sweet corn Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025, at Wessels' Family Farm Market in DeKalb. They are preparing to be a big part of this weekend’s Corn Fest. (Mark Busch)

Also at the event is a community stage hosted at the Egyptian Theatre, featuring local dance troops, theater groups, and music groups, such as high school and small bands. Performances will run for about 45 minutes, with a 15-minute break between each group. Tickets and reservations are not required at the free showings.

Among the family-friendly activities returning to the festival are the kid fest, carnival, Chuck Siebrasse Corn Boil and more.

Angel said she loves how much people are into the festival as a tradition.

“I have people come that it’s generational that the grandmothers [are] bringing their grandkids or great grandkids down,” Angel said. “It’s something people can look forward to.”

Brandon’s father, Rob Wessels, said the corn boil allows the farm to have a bit of a teaching moment.

“It’s a little bit of a chance for us to get people to realize, ‘Hey, this corn really comes from a farm,’” Rob Wessels said. “It doesn’t come from a shelf in some big box store.”

Brandon Wessels said there’s a lot that goes into ensuring that the farm can yield the number of ears needed to fulfill the order.

Typically, the Wessels provide about 600 ears for the corn boil.

“It’s a whole process as far as planning [from] start to finish,” Brandon Wessel said.

Once the field’s been planted, it’s all about monitoring for the Wessels.

“From the time that we plant it to the time that we pick it, [it’s] just making sure that everything’s going to be on target,” Brandon Wessels said. “Oftentimes, we’ll plant quite a bit.”

Rob Wessels said providing the ears for the festival’s corn boil is considered a small job for Wessels’ Family Farm, but it holds great meaning for them.

“We grow a lot of sweet corn,” Rob Wessels said. “We have the store uptown. We do grow maybe just a little bit more sweet corn specifically for the Corn Fest, but it’s what we do. When you look at it back in May, it’s kind of scary because we have to plant the sweet corn and it has to be mature at a specific day. That’s the scary part of it.”

RAMP has been named the festival’s recipient this year.

Every year, festival organizers choose a nonprofit to bestow event proceeds.

According to its website, RAMP aims to help individuals with disabilities reach their full potential.

This year’s presenting sponsor of the festival is Kunes Auto Group of Sycamore.

Brandon Wessels said he’s looking forward to making final preparations on the order for sweet corn requested by the organizers behind Corn Fest.

“It’s always a blast with doing Corn Fest in years past,“ Brandon Wessels said. ”I think it’s going to be different this year, but in the years past, we’ve had lots of volunteers come out and help us pick and husk the corn. ... It’s really cool seeing your name on it and knowing that people are enjoying the fruits of your labor.”

For information on how to purchase tickets or where to park, visit cornfest.com.