Mark Hamel says the 38th Annual Cornfest will look a bit different this year.
“It will be like Cornfest on your front lawn,” says Hamel.
Hamel is a member of the Watford Optimists – one of three community groups which organize the August event. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it quickly became clear there wouldn’t be a whole lot of community events. But the Optimists, the Watford Rotary and the Knights of Columbus, decided they wanted to provide some fun for the community.
A lot of the things, like fairs and the Alvinston Rodeo, are very difficult to continue running because so much of it involves socializing. They really didn’t have a choice,” says Hamel.
But he says Cornfest is “more adaptable.”
Saturday, the Watford/Warwick Horticultural Society will hold its annual Scarecrow competition. Kids are asked to register, then build the scarecrows on their front lawn.
Judges will be by on Aug. 8 to take a look.
Also on Saturday, between 1 pm and 3 pm, people can drive down Centennial Street and pickup their free Corn and Hotdog Meal Kit. The food is being provided by the service clubs with the help of Warwick Township.
At night, kids can join an online party with Tinkerbell and there will be online music as well.
Sunday, Hamel hopes people get out their corn and hotdogs, sit on their front lawn and watch the classic cars parade by.
“We’ve designated a drive around town, and given a map of the town asking the classic cars to hit as many streets as possible.”
Hamel is hopeful everyone in Watford gets a chance to be involved.
“We’ve been doing this for 38 years; we can’t do it the normal way but we can definitely try to do something; be creative.”