The 2026 La Habra Corn Festival will blend popular, long-standing traditions with several new additions designed to broaden community appeal and boost attendance.
Hosted by the La Habra Host Lions Club for the 77th year, the Corn Festival opens Friday, Aug. 21, running through Sunday at El Centro – Lions Park, with the parade taking place at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday along La Habra Boulevard between Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and Cypress Street.
After holding the three-day event at various locations in recent years in an effort to boost attendance, the Lions Club is returning the festival to its longtime home at El Centro Park.
“Everybody’s more familiar and they feel more comfortable at the park,” parade chairperson Tony Martinez said. “We’re getting a lot of compliments about bringing it back to the original site.”
For the first time, the parade features six grand marshals, each chosen to connect with different factions of the community, Martinez said.
“Our community has grown,” he said. “The demographics have changed over the years. We’re now trying to support (every community group).”
Grand marshals include Frank Mazzotta, longtime football coach at La Habra High School; Lauren Lyster, co-anchor of the KTLA 5 Weekend Morning News and a reporter for the station; Dodger superfan Jose “Blue Beard” Lara; Cindy Shea, founder of the Mariachi Divas; Roberto Guadarrama, prominent Grammy-nominated Mexican musician from the band Los Bikos; and Bobby Amaro, drummer best known for his work with the industrial rock band Stabbing Westward.
The parade itself will also see new features, including five marching bands and a post-parade “battle of the drum lines” competition at El Centro Park, where bands can receive awards based on scores from a panel of judges.
New rides are also being introduced on the festival grounds, including a tall swing ride and an expanded set of kiddie rides placed along a side street. The festival will feature shopping, games, corn eating contests and lots of food, including thousands of ears of corn.
A new weekend-long raffle will offer prizes ranging from bicycles and TVs to a major grand prize: a three-day cruise to Ensenada plus $2,000 in cash.
With a dip in attendance in recent years, Martinez emphasized that the festival could not survive without its yearly financial backing from the city.
Without city support last year, the Lions would likely have operated “in the red,” Martinez said.
Funds raised by the festival and other programs run by the Lions are distributed to local nonprofits, schools and youth programs, including the La Habra Boys & Girls Club, the Gary Center, senior programs, and programs at La Habra and Sonora high schools.
The City Council in May agreed that the city would discount by 50% what it asks the Lions Club to pay for expenses related to the festival, such as costs for police services and city employee time.
“It’s put on by an all-volunteer organization, a 501(c)(3),” La Habra Mayor Jose Medrano said at the time. “A true charity. Everything they do, everything comes back to the community. I want to make sure that does not go away. And as best as possible, that the city can help … absolutely.”
The city will also completely subsidize its costs in connection to the Saturday morning parade.
“We can’t not let the Lions Club not have this Corn Festival because it is about a caring community and this is what makes us different,” Councilmember Rose Espinoza said in May. “So, it has to continue.”
If you go
What: La Habra Corn Festival
When: 5 to 11 p.m. on Aug. 21; 9:30 a.m. parade and festival is 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Aug. 22 (food booths open at 10 a.m. following the parade); noon to 8 p.m. on Aug. 23
Where: El Centro-Lions Park, 320 E. Erna Ave., La Habra
Cost: Free admission
Information: lhcornfestival.org