Adel Gears Up for Its Annual Sweet Corn Festival

This year marks the 24th anniversary of the Adel Sweet Corn Festival, a family-friendly event that begins Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, with sweet corn shucking fun, ADM Alumni Golf Tournament and Sweet Corn Princess contest and continues Saturday, Aug. 10 with entertainment for the whole family, including a free concert at the Raccoon Valley Bank Stage and Pavilion! The corn husking begins at 4:30 p.m. and the princess contest follows at 6:30 p.m. Other activities take place at the Adel Courthouse Square and Dallas County Fairgrounds, including the Sweet Corn Festival 5K, Dallas County’s largest parade, a sand volleyball tournament, live entertainment and food vendors, a car show and more.

What to Expect at the 2024 Sweet Corn Festival

Friday, Aug. 9

• ADM Alumni Golf Tournament
  • This two-day event is held at River Valley Golf Course on Aug. 8 – 9. Registration is still available for Thursday, Aug. 8 at $300 per team. Learn more about the event here.
• Annual Shucking of the Corn
  • From 4:30 – 7:30 p.m., spend a few hours at the Adel Public Safety Building parking lot, helping to shuck the corn with music provided by The Big Red Radio.
• Sweet Corn Princess Contest
  • At 6:30 p.m., see ADM school district students compete to be named the Sweet Corn Princess on the Adel Stage at the corner of Main and 10th Streets.

Saturday, Aug. 10

• Sweet Corn Festival 5K Run
  • At 7:30 a.m., the 5K race participants take off through the brick streets in Adel and along the parade route. Register to run and see the route map prior to the race.
• Parade
  • The 2023 Citizen of the Year, Carole Schlapkohl, will serve as Parade Marshall of the event, and Retired Chief of Police Gordy Shephard will also be honored at the Sweet Corn Festival Parade at 9:30 a.m. Download the parade route map and get ready to see floats from local businesses.
• Bags (cornhole) Tournament
  • Would it really be a sweet corn festival without the best Iowa pastime, cornhole? Test your skills in this double elimination tournament beginning at 11 a.m., following the parade. Entry fee is $30 for a two-person team. Register here.
• ADM Sand Volleyball Tournament
  • For ages 18+, co-ed sand volleyball teams will play at Evans Park from 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. Entry fee is $100 per team. Register here and see the flyer for the ADM Tiger’s volleyball team fundraiser here.
• Redline Warriors Presents Adel Sweet Corn Car Show
  • Head to the free ‘70s- and ‘80s-themed car show on the north side of the square from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. See the flyer for this free event here.

Don’t forget that after the parade, you can grab Deardoff Sweet Corn — FREE WHILE IT LASTS! — from Adel’s famous corn shack.

Also on Saturday, attend the Sweet Corn Classic at the Dallas County Fairgrounds. There’s free admission, and you can win door prizes at 3:30 p.m. Other events include the Friends of the Library Book Sale from 9 a.m. – 2 p.m. at the Adel Public Library, the Kid’s Zone presented by The Garlick Team / ReMax Concepts, live entertainment on the southside of the courthouse lawn from 11:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. and so much more!

Everything you need to know about the Sweet Corn Festival can be found at adelpartners.org/sweet-corn-festival. You can even download the 2024 schedule before you go! We hope to see you there, and don’t forget to stop by the Chamber Booth at 9th and Main Streets to purchase a 2024 Sweet Corn Festival t-shirt.

The Greater Des Moines Partnership calendar of events is a one-stop resource for activities taking place throughout the region. Find networking information for Greater Des Moines (DSM) businesses, including Chamber luncheons, roundtables and ribbon cuttings. You can also find live music happening each week thanks to the “Live Music This Week in DSM” blog series.