Every August, Adel holds its Annual Sweet Corn Festival around the courthouse square — one of the more beloved summer events in central Iowa. The festival distributes more than seven tonnes of free sweet corn, cooked and served on the square, along with a parade that draws participants and spectators from across Dallas County, a craft fair, carnival rides, and live entertainment. It is the kind of small-town summer gathering that Iowa does particularly well.
The festival has been running for decades and draws several thousand visitors over its two days — impressive for a town of 6,000. If you are travelling through central Iowa in mid-to-late August, checking whether the festival is on is worthwhile: it is genuinely festive, the corn is good, and it costs nothing to join in. Specific dates vary each year; the town's website lists the schedule each spring.