When did kettle corn become a staple at festivals?

June 15, 2008

I went to the Artisan Festival down at Centennial Park this afternoon. Couldn’t help but smile when I overheard a couple of ladies commenting how big the event was. And I suppose in some ways it was — maybe 100 booths of various arts and crafts for sale. But it’s nothing compared to the St. James Court Art Show help up in Louisville.

Anyway, the only thing I actually wound up buying at the festival was a bag of kettle corn. Which got me to thinking — when exactly did kettle corn become a staple at outdoor festivals and events? I definitely do not recall ever seeing kettle corn as a kid. Not at state fairs or art shows or concerts or any kind event I went to during my youth.

Yet now it’s almost ubiquitous. It’s at ball parks, I’ve seen it at both the Ohio and the Tennessee Renaissance Festivals. I saw it sold at the St. James Court Art Show last year, and now here in Nashville at the Artisan Festival.

It’s gotten to the point where you kinda expect it to be there. I would have been surprised if there hadn’t been a stand selling it at the Artisan Festival.

Somebody must have been behind the re-emergence of this snack. I just wonder who?