Fulton County Ohio Media

Throughout the years, the members of the Swanton Corn Festival Committee have never been ones to rest on their laurels.  Every year, when they reconvene to start the arduous task of planning and organizing the next big show, they brainstorm and research to find new and creative attractions to keep the Corn Festival fresh, fun, inviting and entertaining.  However, with the 2025 edition this past weekend, the Committee may have just outdid themselves and exceeded everyone’s expectations.

For starters, they added one day and one crazy-fun event with Thursday evening’s Color Run up on the “hill” at Memorial Park.  With approximately 400 entries, the runners had to be divided into several groups.  Each runner took off wearing white T-Shirts and returned after making their way through a Kodachrome explosion and looking completely unrecognizable.

“The Swanton Corn Festival Color Run was pure joy from start to finish.  From little ones to grandparents, the smiles and laughter were endless and a great way to kick off the Swanton Corn Festival. Huge thanks to our amazing sponsors and rockstar volunteers who made it happen. Big shout-out to Junior Ambassador Brooklyn Kahl—she jumped right in, learned the ropes, and brought a new outlook to the festival with her energy, said Committee Co-Chair Stephaie Fessenden who brought the idea to the group.  “We can’t wait to announce what we have planned for the 2026 Corn Festival—it’s going to be bigger and better than ever!”

Friday night brought the widely popular All-Class Reunion under the Beard Pavilion in Memorial Park.  Several local businesses provided adult beverages, food trucks were staged just outside the pavilion and Swanton High School alum Vinnie Towel (’07) served as the DJ to crank out the tunes.

The big day, of course, was Saturday.  Park activities got started early with a 5K run, a volleyball tournament and a pickleball tournament among other things.  At 10:30, the Swanton Corn Festival Parade, with its “Cornival” theme, began traveling South from the Swanton Sports Center down a crowded Main Street, crossing the railroad tracks and turning right onto West Garfield.  Lasting over an hour, many said it was the biggest and best Corn Festival Parade they had ever witnessed.

“Every year our parade entrants don’t disappoint; and it was great to see so many decorated floats, involved businesses, great performances and fantastic bands. Everyone’s enthusiasm is what makes the parade so fun every year,” exclaimed Hannah Gombash, Chair of the Parade Committee.

For the record, the float entered by Tri-County Block and Brick, won the trophy for best decorated float and the owner of Tri-County, Rodger Cooley, served as the parade’s Grand Marshal.  The floats from Kesters tis the Season and the Swanton Wrestling Club placed second and third, respectively.

Soon after the parade ended, Memorial Park was filled with one of the highest turnouts that anyone could remember.  It was especially surprising considering the temperature hovered in the low 90’s for most of the day.

“I am amazed, year after year, by the incredible turnout we see each day of the Swanton Corn Festival—but this past weekend truly took my breath away. The energy, the laughter, the smiling faces at every corner… that’s the best reward we could ever ask for. Watching friends, families, and neighbors enjoy themselves from morning to night is exactly why we do what we do. This festival is more than just an event—it’s a celebration of Swanton pride and community spirit. If you were here, you could feel it in the air. We had record-breaking numbers for both our car show and our vendors, and that’s a testament to how special this town is,” related Co-Committee Chair Alyssa Walberg.  “I am beyond grateful for our amazing committee members, who worked tirelessly all year to make this possible, and for every single volunteer who gave their time—whether it was running a booth, helping at a tournament, parking cars, setting up, helping with the race, or serving beer in the beer tent. It takes a village to put on something of this scale… and I truly believe Swanton has the best village there is.”

If you did not have any fun during the three days of the Swanton Corn Festival, then you probably were not there.  It will be a challenge for next year’s Committee to top 2025 but we have all come to never doubt what this hard-working tireless group of volunteers are capable of.

Photo: Swanton Corn Festival Committee

Front: Renee Tufts, Alyssa Walberg Middle: Rebecca Porter, Tara Shaver Back: Monique Gombash, Hannah Gombash, Stephanie Fessenden, Marcus Schmidt, Betty Joe Sadowski, Alan Robasser