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Brentwood Press - OakleyPress_07.18.08 - Index

14A | THEPRESS.NET COMMUNITY JULY 18, 2008
CornFest packs ‘em in once again
by Rick Lemyre
Staff Writer
Driven indoors for a week by a tripledigit
heat wave, locals emerged from their
air-conditioned homes by the thousands
last weekend, fl ocking to City Park for
some slightly cooler temperatures and the
2008 edition of the Brentwood CornFest.
“I thought we would be toast,” Brentwood’s
Dawn Copeland said as she enjoyed
the cool breeze just prior to the Friday night
fi reworks. “We really caught a major break
with the weather.”
Offi cial numbers were not available as
of Wednesday, but Harry York, CEO of the
Brentwood Chamber of Commerce, which
hosted the event, said attendance was up
from last year’s 40,000, despite the increase
in admission prices from $6 to $10.
“It cost us $30 just to get in, but that’s
not so bad when you think about it,” said
Nancy Parker as she and her husband
Charlie watched their son Chad, 8, and
daughter Darla, 6, enjoy a romp in the Kids
Zone. “It’s going to cost you $50 just in gas
to go anywhere even near here. Why not
spend the money here on corn-on-the-cob
and beer instead of pumping out the tailpipe
of my car?”
A crowd estimated at more than
10,000 on Friday alone apparently agreed,
and packed City Park for the highly anticipated
fi reworks show. They were not disap-
pointed.
“I heard nothing but raves about the
fi reworks for the next two days,” said York.
Although temperatures on Saturday
and Sunday were in the 90s, it was still at
least 10 degrees cooler than earlier in the
week, and people continued to turn out for
the fun and see their friends. York said he
saw a lot of kids greeting one another as
though they were long-lost friends.
“This was the fi rst time they’d seen
each other since school let out,” he said. “It
was like a (class) reunion.”
On Saturday, visitors gnawed on ears
of corn while wandering past the gleaming
paint and chrome of the car show, and
quaffed smoothies as they spent generously
at the auction. On Sunday, they cheered
KRON chef Joey Altman as he fi rst helped
judge the cooking contest, then showed off
his own skills in a special cooking demonstration.
On both days, music ranging from
reggae to rock to rhythm and blues kept the
people coming and tapping their toes.
“The bands are really good this year,”
said Katherine Jacoby on Saturday. Nearby,
her 7-year-old son Jack hurled one of
his sandals at a beach ball that had gotten
stuck in a tree. “Public Eye (which played
just before the fi reworks Friday) was great,
and so was Lovin’ Spoonful.” (Jacoby said
she hoped to return Sunday after a trip to
the store for new sandals for Jack, who lost
one to the same tree that snagged his beach
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Photo by Richard Wisdom
Mya Samaniego, 5, sinks her teeth into an ear of roasted corn during last
weekend’s Brentwood CornFest. About 40,000 people attended the event.
ball.)
York, who as the new top chamber offi
cial was involved with the CornFest for
the fi rst time, said he hoped the event would
match the $50,000 donated to local charities
last year. To him, the nonprofi ts who work
the festival are key to the entire event.
“One of the big things about the Corn-
Fest is the community effort and the thousands
of volunteers,” he said. “That giant
community effort is what makes it all happen.”
York said that planning for next year
has already begun, although the festival
might need to fi nd a new home. Construction
of the new Civic Center, which includes
an overhaul of City Park, could be well underway
by next July, meaning the biggest
annual bash in Brentwood would need to
move, at least temporarily.
“I’m already looking at alternative
sites,” York said.
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