East Prairie hosting Sweet Corn Festival on June 26 to 28

East Prairie, Missouri, will be celebrating its 41st Sweet Corn Festival on June 26 to 28.

Events include live music, craft and food vendors, a corn-eating contest and free demonstrations from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

Craft vendors this year will sell jewelry, live plants, hair bows, children's clothing, homemade soap and many other products. East Prairie Chamber of Commerce director Cyndi Norton estimated the weekend will host about 100 food and craft vendors.

Events begin at 5:30 p.m. June 26 with the Main Street party. Musician Hunter Cox will open the evening with a performance, followed by the Church of God Men's Trio and the Brass Ensemble, the East Prairie Junior High School cheerleaders and, finally, the Jerry Ford Orchestra.

At 8 p.m. that day, the corn-eating contest will take place, and the Southeast Twirlers will perform with fire batons to finish the night. From 6 to 8 p.m., Singer/songwriter Daniel Sexton will perform at the end of Main Street.

The pancake breakfast will begin at 5:30 a.m. June 27 on Main Street. Tickets are $5.

At 7:30 a.m., a Mass will be celebrated to begin the Tour De Corn bicycle ride. Registration is $25, and routes of 15, 30, 65 or 100 miles are available. For more information and to register, visit tourdecorn.com.

Throughout the day June 27, there will be pig races, a corn-tossing competition, an antique car show, a corn hole contest and an outhouse race, with cash prizes for the top three places.

An outhouse race is when two people create a structure that must have a toilet seat and be on wheels. Teams will push the outhouse down Main Street, and the three fastest are the winners. They can be made of wood, cardboard, plastic, tape, old car parts, grand piano crates or any nonmechanical part. The outhouse must be 5 feet tall and 3 feet wide with three walls. Registration forms for the outhouse race are available at the chamber of commerce.

The talent show will take place at 6 p.m. June 27 at the East Prairie High School football field.

The chamber's annual fish fry will be from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 28 at the East Prairie Nutrition Center at 304 E. Main St. A dine-in or carryout ticket is $10 in advance or $12 at the door.

For more information, call 573-649-5243 or visit the East Prairie Chamber of Commerce's Facebook page.

Money raised at the Main Street party goes toward improvements for East Prairie's downtown. Norton said events Saturday go toward the chamber's Fourth of July fireworks, a chamber-sponsored youth baseball team and other chamber activities.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

Main Street, East Prairie, Mo.

East Prairie High School, 308 E. Walnut St., East Prairie, Mo.

Chamber of Commerce Office, 106 S. Washington St., East Prairie, Mo.