Green Corn Festival

Lenape Nation of PA Green Corn Festival at the wonderful Les Rea’s Farm in West Cape May NJ! Drumming, singing, dancing, children’s games, food, vendors, and more, plus, purchase farm-fresh produce and products from the farm! Grand entrance at noon. Free admission and parking.

The Green Corn Festival is celebrated by many Native Americans in one form or another. These early people were very great full for their harvests. Tribes held several festivals each year to say prayers of thanks to their gods. One of the most important was the Green Corn Festival. This festival was held in late summer or early fail, when the corn they had planted had ripened on the stalk. The expression “green corn” refers to ripened sweet corn, corn you could eat.

These early people were great farmers. They depended on three staples - corn, beans, and squash. In the Woodland areas, these food items were so important that they had a name. They were called “The Three Sisters”. The Three Sisters were mixed together to make a vegetable dish called succotash.

But Corn was always special, even after the Green Corn Festival, some corn was left on the stalk to additionally ripen, to help the drying process. Dried corn and dried corn meal were both very important staple items to help these early people eat well through the long winter ahead.