Cornstock Music Festival

CORNSTOCK?!??

What happens when people get together for some fun, listen to music, play a little music and start to talk? Ideas bounce, silliness happens and, like kids often do, someone says, “Hey, WE SHOULD HAVE A MUSIC FESTIVAL!” Original… Right?

Well, this is really how the idea about having a Music and Arts Festival at Scotts Mill Park got started and the concept was embraced by the Kalamazoo County Parks Department for a show in June of 2005. I, from Scotts, and Denny Cooley from the Kalamazoo County Parks Department took the idea and ran with it.

So... what do you call a music and arts festival held in an obscure, rural county park located in the boondocks of West Michigan? Many names were tried on and didn’t fit… but Woodstock (for those of you who remember) seemed to capture everyone’s imagination. Woodstock… HMMMM… already used. So what DO you call an event that is held among the corn fields, wheat fields, woods, and critters? Someone laughed and said “We should call it CORN-stock” and the name had a ring. Samuel Morrison created the Cornstock guy, and James Burkett wrote the Cornstock

Anthem which proclaims that “Music Tastes Better Out Here!”

So, here we are at the FOURTH ANNUAL CORNSTOCK MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL with another great line up of local musicians who are great to watch and even more enthralling to listen to. We hope you enjoy your day here and that you will visit the arts and crafts booths, and food vendors. In the Kids’ Booth, young festival-goers can get creative with art and craft materials, try out musical instruments at the KSO Instrument Petting Zoo, and design their very own musical instruments for the afternoon Kidstock Parade. Check the schedule for that special performance!

We appreciate your attendance and hope to make this a continued annual event. WE WILL WELCOME ANY $ DONATIONS FOR FUNDING A BIGGER AND BETTER EVENT NEXT YEAR. YOU WILL FIND A DONATION CAN AT THE INFORMATION BOOTH WHICH WILL GRACIOUSLY ACCEPT YOUR GENEROSITY. BUSINESSES CAN SUPPORT CORNSTOCK BY BUYING AN ADVERTISEMENT IN NEXT YEAR’S FESTIVAL GUIDE.

—Robert C. Beardsley

WE STILL HAVE PLENTY OF CDs FROM '06 AND '07! JUST CLICK HERE!

Here's some photos from this years festival. Click on the thumbnails for a closer look.

Welcome to Cornstock Music and Arts Festival!

We are West Michigan's up and coming music festivals. Located at Scotts Mill Pond, in Scotts, Michigan, it was founded by our illustrious leader, Robert Beardsley in 2004 and has become one of West Michigan's up and coming music festivals. This site tries to capture some of the essence of the festival, but only being there in person can truely do that! It's good fun for everyone because music just tastes better out here!