One of Tecumseh's biggest events is back with new organizers and a new format.
The annual Corn Festival at Lacasse Park is now the Tecumseh Corn and Music Festival, with the St. Clair Beach Optimist Club assuming operations.
The festival returns after a four-year hiatus, as the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and last year's festival was replaced by one celebrating Tecumseh's 100th birthday.
Among the changes made to the edition opening Friday are free admission to the festival grounds, where the traditional midway rides, vendors, and, of course, the corn will be. The festival has also been scaled back from four days to three.
The corresponding parade has been dropped, and for the first time, visitors 19 and older can partake in the music festival. For a fee, visitors can attend on Friday and Saturday evenings, and enjoy food, live music, and adult beverages.
Highlights of Friday's events include a formal opening at 12:30 p.m. by Caldwell First Nation, along with a cornhole tournament. At the music festival tent, jazz and funk band Six Degrees takes the stage at 5:30 p.m., followed by the alternative pop and rock Musicland Band, and Mrs. Fox ending the night with a 9:30 p.m. set.
On Saturday, Windsor and Essex County Plein Air Artists will have live painting around Lacasse Park, the Golden Age Club will hold bingo at 4 p.m., and the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada will offer stargazing with telescopes from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. At the music tent, the classic rock band Cymbolism starts off at 5:30 p.m., followed by blues artists Rick Labonte and The Band of Brothers. Country band Buck Twenty ends things at 9:30 p.m.
Between acts in the music tent both nights. DJ Rye will spin tunes.
Sunday's marquee event is the WESDA Soapbox Derby Race at the track of St. Pius X Catholic Elementary School. Registration begins at 10 a.m. with racing until 5 p.m.
The main festival grounds are open from noon to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and from noon to 5 p.m. Sunday, with admission free.
The music festival tent opens Friday and Saturday at 5 p.m. and runs till midnight both nights. Admission to the 19-and-over music tent is $15 in advance and $20 at the door while supplies last.
The complete festival schedule is available on its official webpage.