ABOVE: A Sentinel photo from the 1967 King Korn Days.

King Korn Days flourished during the 1950s and 1960s and was briefly resurrected in the 1980s. It included parades with floats and bands, various forms of entertainment, singers, dancers, instrumentalists, magicians, novelty acts, notable celebrities and banquets. In addition, there were King Korn queen candidates from throughout Martin County.

In reviewing several past King Korn Celebrations, an article from the September 26, 1952, edition of the Sentinel stated the following: “Fairmont is wearing its gay festival clothes today, with queens, parades, kings and corn on its mind as the gigantic 1952 annual King Korn Days festival begins to unfold in all its golden, harvest splendor.” The story goes on to state, “Everything is in place – bunting, corn exhibits, gifts for the public, eat stands, a carnival, reservations for notables, even purple robes for the Queen and Korn King. Corn – no matter which way you spell it – will be everywhere Friday and Saturday. Eleven thousand ears of corn will be served to the public Saturday.”

In that same edition of the Sentinel, another article read, “Somewhere in Fairmont is a young lovely Miss who tonight will be named 1953 King Korn queen to represent the community throughout the state.” “Three professional ‘queen selectors’ will know by early tonight but they won’t disclose their choice until a special public radio broadcast later in the evening from Interlaken ballroom.” These judges were selected for their prominent roles in Twin City organizations and past pageant experience.

There were twenty-five King Korn queen candidates in 1952, each sponsored by a local business. Newspaper accounts included pictures and detailed personal information including height, weight, hobbies, home addresses and their future plans. Some of those details would seem incredibly inappropriate in today’s world.

The queen selection was to be made during the queen’s dinner at which time two princesses and one queen would be chosen. At that point the judges would “wrinkle their brows some more at the queens” in attempting to make their final decisions. After the dinner, the queen candidates were to be escorted to their homes to change into formals for the Queen’s Ball.

The grand finale, the crowning ceremonies, would begin at 10:30 p.m. to allow enough time for the fans watching the Fairmont-New Ulm football game to attend. The Chamber of Commerce planned to present the candidate selected as queen with $100 to purchase a new wardrobe to be worn in celebrations she would attend in the next year. Each princess would also receive $10. In addition, the Korn Queen and all queen candidates would ride in what was described as the “mammoth” 1952 King Korn parade on Saturday.

The September 24, 1956, Sentinel article read “Crowd of 10,000 Sees Sixth Annual Corn Parade.” Stokely Van Camp gave away 6,000 ears of sweet corn, there was a square dance demonstration, and a Fairmont man, John Kahler who was the owner of the Highland Motel, won a new Mercury as the climax to the event. Kahler said he called his wife and jingled the car keys by the phone before telling her he had won the car.

Fairmont’s 1967 King Korn festival included10,000 hot dogs being devoured by 1:00 p.m. and an estimated crowd of 10,000 plus watching the parade. Closing events included 415 attending the teen dance at the Youth Center and a standing room only crowd at the adult dance at the Legion Hall.

The resurrected King Korn Days festival of 1985 included a parade, Enduro car races, a chicken and sweet corn feed, and perhaps most significant was that Fairmont hosted the Minnesota State 1985 “Corn Husking Contest.” The contest was slated to begin at 9:00 a.m. on a twenty-five-acre site across from the Martin County Fairgrounds. The contest fielded sixty contestants ranging in age from seven to ninety-four.

Although King Korn Days provided an important and fun-filled function for the county during its life span, as is frequently the case with community festivals, it gradually evolved and was replaced by something else.

However, September 13, 2025, has been dedicated to remembering King Korn Days in Fairmont. It will include a kids event entitled “Pig Alley by Day” featuring many fun activities for kids from 10 a.m. to noon. Then, the “Barn Bash by Night” for adults featuring adult activities including square dancing, salsa dancing and a dance party from 2 p.m. to 1 a.m.

For more information on this topic, or to become a member of the Martin County Historical Society, visit the Pioneer Museum in Fairmont and our website at martincountymuseum.com