As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, communities across the country are preparing celebrations to mark this milestone. In Plain City, that celebration will take the form of the Plain City Corn Carnival. 

This event, which is scheduled to take place on September 12, will bring back an event that has origins in the 1910s. The Corn Carnival originally took place between 1914 and 1919 and returned for a brief period during the 1980s. 

According to Rosemary Anderson, the head of the Plain City Historical Society, the original Corn Carnival reflected the agricultural roots of the community. 

“It was much more like a county fair,” Anderson says. “They had classes for animals, horses, cattle, sheep. They had classes for baked goods and handicrafts and jams and jellies and all that sort of thing. So people were awarded prizes.”

Alongside these competitions, there were also parades and guest speakers, sometimes including Governor Willis. One of the more unique traditions that took place at the original was the “baby show,” where infants less than 9 months old were judged and awarded prizes. Artifacts from these contests, including the trophy and clothing from the 1915 contest are located at the Plain City Historical Society.

Local businesses also played a major role in the event with merchants setting up booths down the middle of West Main Street and decorating storefronts.  This sense of community involvement carried over into the revival of the Corn Carnival in the 1980s. 

During the revival, the event shifted away from agricultural competitions and focused more on being a source of entertainment and community activity. 

“They had a parade; they elected queens,” Anderson says “I think they had maybe three queens for different age groups. They had a pancake breakfast. There was, I think, a sunrise service on Sunday morning. This was when we still had the grandstand at the park. So they had it out there. But they had, I think they had the rides, carnival rides and things like that.”

Now as part of the national America 250 initiative, Plain City has decided to bring the Corn Carnival back once again for one time only to celebrate both local history and a national milestone. 

Mayor Jody Carney explains that the decision to revive the event came from a desire to highlight the importance of agriculture to Plain City and to connect the older generations with newer residents through shared community experiences. 

“We applied to be an America 250 community, and so that means that we get to host a special event that is important to Plain City,” Carney says. “Everybody talks about the Corn Carnival of the 1914s and the 1980s”

Rather than create a completely new event, village leaders chose to bring back an event which already held meaning within the community. 

“We can capture everybody’s nostalgia, but then also introduce new people to what people who grew up here feel when they think of community,” Carney said.

Planning for the Corn Carnival has been a collaborative effort between local officials and volunteers, with different groups taking responsibility for organizing events, entertainment, and logistics. According to Carney, the goal of the Corn Carnival is to make the event something the entire community can take part in. 

“It truly takes a village to put something of this magnitude on,” Carney says. “And that was our hope is to really make it a true community invested event. So if there are high school students who would like to participate, you are more than welcome to. You can come up with your own booth and use it for community service hours or whatever you would like to do to participate and give back. We want everybody to feel that they have a part in this event and to kind of break down our barriers and our differences and come together for the town.”

Alongside the revival of past activities, this year’s Corn Carnival will feature several new additions focused on educating attendees about agriculture and, specifically, corn. Event organizers are working with the Ohio Corn Growers and local farm organizations to provide interactive exhibits and activities. These exhibits will show how corn is grown and show how corn is used in the economy and production. 

“My goal for this event is to bring back the nostalgia for our older residents and provide a common ground for our new residents to come together,” Carney said. “And to also educate our community about agriculture because it’s the number one industry in Ohio.”

City leaders also hope that the event will benefit local businesses by increasing foot traffic and encouraging visitors to return. 

“We hope that by partnering with local businesses, it can drive foot traffic into their shops,” Carney says. “ If they have a good time at the Corn Carnival, they’ll want to come back”

Despite the potential impact, Carney made it clear that the focus of the event remains on the community itself. 

“Really the Corn Carnival is for the community of people who live here and who grew up here,” she says.