BIXBY, Okla. — The Green Corn Festival has been a Bixby staple for decades.
"I don't even remember a year that I didn't come here to be honest," Bixby lifer Ashley Lewis said.
WATCH: 'It's a staple': Bixby Green Corn Festival begins June 24
Starting on June 24, this year's event marks the 52nd running of the summer classic, one that comes from humble beginnings.
"It was actually a tradition that the farmers here in Bixby did," Dalayna Dillon said. "They had it in the fall to celebrate their awesome harvest."
The festival is now put on by members of the Bixby Optimist Club, like Dillon.
"Everything we do through the Green Corn Festival is to raise funds that we reinvest back into scholarships, student leadership awards, and some other ways that we give back to not just the schools but to directly to students," Dillon said.
The biggest change for this year's festival is a bigger space. It'll be held at Bentley Park, different from the traditional downtown Bixby location.
Lewis, an Optimist Club member herself, thinks it'll be a positive change.
"Just due to all of the growth that we've had, we've been so spread out," Lewis said. "So, to be here and all in one place, I think, is going to be incredible."
What won't change is the list of events. Live music, carnival rides, food, the Little Mr. and Miss Green Corn, and the popular turtle and frog races. The newly crowned Miss Bixby also plays a big role throughout the week.
The move does come at an important time for the 50-plus-year-old tradition. The town is at a crossroads, mixed with both Bixby lifers and people moving to the area for the 1st time.
"I think everybody's kind of looking for that community down-home feel," Lewis said. "Everybody wants to feel connected to their community in some way, and I think this event allows them to be able to do that."
"There's so many new families moving to Bixby all the time, and I think they love latching on to a community tradition like Green Corn," Dillon added.
And it's that new community support, and a need for more sponsors, that's necessary to keep the Green Corn going for another half century.
"We need people to come and enjoy this, this environment, and this atmosphere so we can keep it going," Lewis said. "This is 52 years strong. We would hate to see something like this go by the wayside."
The festival runs from June 24-27. You can find a full list of events here.
To learn more about the Bixby Optimist Club, click here.
TJ Eckert is your South Tulsa County reporter.
Is there something you think he should know about or look into?
You can email him at TJ.Eckert@kjrh.com.
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