According to historical newspaper archives, Grand County corn won first, second, fourth, and fifth place at an international corn show in Chicago, competing against other western states. Full circle: Modern festival, historic traditionsThis year’s Harvest Festival embraces that heritage with corn as the central theme. Corn-themed activities include a corn shucking competition to crown a festival queen or king, grilled corn options, corn-infused cob-oven quesadillas, and honey butter sweet corn cookies. For Valdez, events like Harvest Festival serve a crucial role in reconnecting Moab with local food production. “The more we celebrate local food production as a community, the more we see residents taking action in their own ways,” she explained.