Officials with the Town of Tecumseh are exploring options for the future of the Tecumseh Corn Festival.
The corn festival was last held in 2019 due to COVID-19 and restrictions during the pandemic. It was also put off this past July as the Town staged its 100th anniversary celebration in its place.
Over the years, the Town's Community and Recreation Services department has been responsible for planning and staging the event, but a report to Council says the growth in scope and duration of the Corn Festival has surpassed Town staff capacity to host it.
The report says a 2023 festival hosted by Community and Recreation Services is not planned at this time, but administration is in discussions with the Optimist Club of St. Clair Beach to re-invent the Corn Festival, if the Optimist Club takes it over.
Deputy mayor Joe Bachetti says it's a good thing the festival has grown so much but that comes with challenges.
"Now is an opportunity to involve the service clubs and local organizations to see if they are able to step up and rebrand the festival," he says.
While administration is in discussions with the Optimist Club of St. Clair Beach, Bachetti says there's a lot of steps to be taken.
"When you do have a major event such as the Corn Festival, you need to start having these plans and discussions early on in the year. So hopefully you'll be able to see some major event taking place in Tecumseh, but how it will look and the magnitude is still to be seen," he says.
The festival typically runs three to four days and includes family friendly activities, entertainment, a midway carnival, parade, a pageant, vendors and hot buttered corn.
Attendance at the festival has varied around 10,000 to 15,000 people per year at Lacasse Park.
Bachetti says these events play a vital role in the health and well-being of the residents.
"Special events that we put on or the community service groups put on, gets everybody together," he says. "They celebrate, they honour, raise awareness and fundraise for a worthy cause. I'm hoping a service club can step up and make it happen for 2023."
The Tecumseh Corn Festival has been named to Festival and Events Ontario's 'Top 100 Festivals' list for over a dozen consecutive years.