Corn Fest is downtown on Rt. 38. Best food is: Fay's BBQ pork chop sandwiches and pork/chicken kabobs. Great lemon shake ups too. Greek Orthodox Church Gyros - seriously, best ever. Kiwana's brings a wooden keg of semi-locally made root-beer and the floats are oh so good. They also serve Dekalb Del Monte corn a few ways. There was a place, I think taco explosion, with deliciously seasoned steak tacos. Tinez tacos have really good chicken tacos but the steak needs either searing or seasoning. Thai Pavillion has really great noodles and fried rice. Salt Creek BBQ had awesome cooked forever ribs and the pulled pork was really good too. Free corn is served during the corn boil which is either Saturday or Sunday morning depending on the year. They serve something crazy like 30K ears and go until it runs out. A bad experience was a gyro from a place that had it simmering in a giant wok like pan with onions. It looked good but was inedible and thrown in the garbage. We got more tacos and quesadilla's from the taco explosion instead. Be ware - that place had other similar wok style meat plates too that we won't try. Funnel cakes everywhere and typical carnival fare. US adults go to eat and the kids ride at the carnival. It's a great time. All the local businesses have booths too. read more

My friends reminded me it was Corn Fest weekend, so why not check it out. Although calling this fest corn fest seemed to miss the mark. I was expecting more corn dishes and corn themed. There was a lot of typical carnival eats as well as taco trucks. Fest is free to walk around. If not staying to watch the music or ride the carnival rides an hour or so is plenty. read more

Dekalb Corn Fest - Festivals Near Me - DeKalb, Illinois

Corn Fest!!!! My main issue is the treatment of the beer garden, it is completely fenced in like some kind of ICE containment area. There is not a ton of signage specifying how exactly to get in. I am able bodied and had to walk around the entire block to find the entrance, after running into a dead end by the sound stage; and being thwarted from multiple alley entrances that were not designated as off limits to the public. By the time I finally found the entrance, it made me think, what if I were disabled or using a walker? That would have been ten times as difficult. When I finally did find the entrance, they informed me that it was $10 per person just to enter the containment area, at that point I was over it. Mind you, there are no other alcoholic beverages sold outside of the containment area, unless of course you pop into one of the local bars. Not everyone, but I also noticed that some vendors would only accept cash. There were some reasonable food options, but overheard one vendor quote $18 for a brat?!?! Corn Fest may have just jumped the shark. read more

Great time, fun place for everyone. The only bad thing was the wait for free corn was extremely long. The reason was that the steam machine wasn't working early enough, which slowed down serving the corn. But how can you complain about free corn? Which has always been awesome in past visits. DeKalb is a great place to visit! read more

Band was good but for a fest named corn fest...where was the corn? I expected more things made from corn then grilled or buttered corn on the cob. Also what's the deal with ending the festival at 6pm? read more

Corn fest is back downtown DeKalb!!! A great time for all ages. Plenty of rides, food and vendors. Enjoy! read more

From a Chicagoan's perspective, this fest deal doesn't get any better! 1) Five buck parking for my car load of 6 within walking distance is very fair. 2) FREE all-U-can-eat corn with butter, salt, napkins, and no wait line was a dream! I can't remember the last time we got free eats at any city event. Corn was delish! 3) FREE admission to the fairgrounds. Again, unheard of for city events. All City of Chicago neighborhood fests shake you down for a $5 donation per person. Our family had a great drive out to the country for a very friendly day trip without the feeling of being fleeced! read more

Since Corn Fest moved to the airport due to construction, their food selection has increased dramatically. In addition to the traditional free corn, visitors can now enjoy Jamba Juice, Giordano's deep dish pizza, and all manner of elephant ear, funnel cake, and nacho. With more space and abundant parking, in a way the festival has become more visitor-friendly at the airport. In exchange, Corn Fest has sacrificed a great deal of its local flavor. Now a shuttle bus is the only thing linking Corn Fest with the sidewalk sales of downtown businesses and the charm of downtown architecture. read more

As a Dekalb resident I thought the 2013 corn fest was off the hook. Returning to downtown brought the community feel back that was severely lacking at the airport. For a family of six, corn fest really has something for everyone. We have two under 5 that enjoy the kids stage, bounce houses, and carnival. Our two teens really enjoy the carnival, hip shop vendors, and hanging with friends in the under 21 area of the main stage. My wife and I live for the food offerings, including unlimited free corn with butter and salt, and sampling the BBQ vendors. Once it gets late we really enjoyed the beer garden and the free music is amazing. The beer garden is impressively located in a lot surrounded by old tall architecturally beautiful buildings. Watching the main stage laser light show on the buildings was a highlight of 2013. Pro's of Corn fest - Downtown = free parking on city streets, community atmosphere, free music all weekend (mostly country and rock). - Many activities for all ages. Friday night is Family Night. - No entrance fee. - Reasonably priced beer garden and food vendors. - Downtown businesses are open and offer many specials. Con's of Corn fest - Carnival is expensive, there are several wristband options; single day wristbands are restricted to certain time slots 12-4 or 12-6 should be all day. Mega-pass is unlimited 3 day pass for $55 all times. - Corn fest engulfs 3+ city blocks so be prepared to walk a lot. - Maps lack detailed descriptions of vendors and their offerings. read more