TR PHOTOS BY LOGAN METZGER
The 97th Corn Carnival in Gladbrook was full of family-friendly fun ranging from carnival games and a car show to Fireman Waterball Contest where everyone was sure to get wet. Though it was a gloomy day many people still showed up.

Even with a wet start to the day, crowds of people descended upon Gladbrook for the third day of the 97th Corn Carnival.

People clustered around a food tent serving pie, hotdogs and beef burgers until 1:00 p.m. rolled around and then more started showing up as the weather cleared.

Filling Second Street of Gladbrook was the center of the Corn Carnival, the Midway. Children and their parents swarmed the ticket booths to get tickets so they could play one of the carnival games, ride one of the 10 rides, run through the obstacle course or bounce in one of the inflatables.

Also on Second Street were the many food vendors serving mini donuts, kettle corn, cotton candy, popcorn and of course sweet corn. The Tama County Pork Producers also had a food truck present.

One of the main events on Saturday was the Firemen Waterball Contest where teams of two competed in age group brackets to get a football past each other using firemen’s hoses to shoot water at each other. There was lots of laughter and screaming as the teams and bystanders got sprayed with water.

Keith Sash, mayor of Gladbrook, was watching his grandkids compete in the contest and said it was a fun time for everyone.

“This is the 97th year, and its important to have the Corn Carnival every year for the families who enjoy it,” Sash said.

Sash said all the people coming to town and all the families coming back was his favorite part of the Corn Carnival.

Also going on through Saturday was a showing of the movie “The Hustle,” a car show with over 20 cars in attendance, and a vendor fair with around eight booths including Iowa State Extension.

“The Corn Carnival brings many people to Gladbrook, and I mean we are a small town but everyone comes to Corn Carnival,” said Karen Pieper, a longtime resident.

Pieper said her favorite part was the parade, which took place Friday evening.

Saturday rounded out with a talent show called Gladbrook’s Got Talent and a fireworks show.