Revisiting Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree!

I’m the first to admit, that some of my posts are a bit out of order, and with the arrival of our latest family member, I have missed a couple of posts despite my best efforts at planning ahead. Please don’t let the timeliness of this post minimize the fun and excitement we had at the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree! For those of you that haven’t been following Frugal Florida Fun, Long & Scott Farms has quickly become one of our favorite “Agritainment” venues to frequent.

So lets back up a bit… We first checked out Long & Scott Farms last year during their annual Corn Maze and have kept in touch with them ever since. When we heard they were hosting the very first Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree, we were excited to tell our readers about it, and even had a great ticket giveaway courtesy for Long & Scott Farms. So what exactly is the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree?

Well, it’s sort of hard to explain. The Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree is a cross between a community event with local vendors, a food truck event with lots of delicious choices, rich buttery Zellwood Sweet Corn and of course a rocking’ band! Parking was very reasonable at only $1, and it was much easier paying for parking knowing that the cash was actually a donation to a multitude of local charities including the Relay for Life, and other local High School groups. It’s about an hour and a half drive for us, so when we arrived, it was great to stretch our legs and unload our little guy with all his gear. Since we knew that this was going to be a large event, we also took the opportunity to test out some great child safety products like Safety Tats and the MyBuddyTag system. We had two extra children’s tickets courtesy of Long & Scott Farms, so we had a bit of fun distributing them amongst those walking up to the ticket booth. I was surprised just how many folks took advantage of the advance online ticket sales. We had to approach a handful of families before we found one that hadn’t pre purchased. While we wandered around outside a bit, we noted that the band sounded awesome and we hadn’t even walked in yet!

After slathering on sun screen and exchanging our tickets for wristbands, we were down on the farm! That’s right, the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree is actually located on a working commercial farm! You really can’t ask for much more from the venue itself, as there are lots of things to do once you enter. Every time we go, we are amazed at all the things that are included in the cost of admission. So where to start? With a toddler in tow, we started the grand loop around what I would call the music grounds. Right in the middle of where their annual corn maze will eventually be, a huge music stage was setup and the band was belting out everything from Zac Brown hits, to Jimmy Buffett titles. Along the sides of the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree, local vendors were setup peddling everything from purses to craft items. We decided to walk around the loop to see our food choices.

It was still a bit early in the day, but the temperature was quickly starting to climb. The assortment of food trucks and restaurant booths were more than happy to sell reasonably priced drinks, and the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree even had a spot to purchase drinks in the middle of the field. One of the vendors was a home bottled water company, and you could sip on some cold water for free as well. There were adult beverages available but I didn’t see anyone chugging them down. Later in the evening it probably would have been very refreshing to enjoy a cold beer while chilling out listening to some great tunes. We usually tend to keep a close eye out at events and festivals to see if a crowd is getting intoxicated so we can get our little guy out of there, but we didn’t see any issues. Granted it was around 11am, but the type of crowd that was there didn’t seem like it would get rowdy. If mom and dad want to have an adult beverage or two it won’t break the bank, as I believe large beers were around $4.00, typical for a festival type of event.

After making the rounds around the jamboree grounds, we decided to sink our teeth into some delicious sweet corn! After all, the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree just wouldn’t be fun without authentic Zellwood Sweet Corn! Included with adult admissions were two complimentary tickets for their buttered sweet corn. Talk about a farm to table concept! This corn was literally grown right there on the farm and Long & Scott actually brought the tables to the field! We had a very brief wait in line, and were greeted by some friendly faces who gladly exchanged our tickets for cobs of corn. If we wanted more, they were only $1 each, which is very reasonable for festival faire. We sat down at one of the tables close by, and dug in! While we chowed down, we got a chance to witness the corn operation from the boiling to the butter application. I had to chuckle because someone started yelling, “We need more butter!” and I’ll be darned if one of the local boy scouts didn’t bring over literally a 5 gallon bucket of butter. I have never seen so much butter in my life! I’m curious to know the statistics behind how many ears of corn and sticks of butter were actually consumed that weekend!

Once we had full bellies, we checked out the other attractions at the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree. I was so excited because my little guy was finally big enough to hop on the bounce pillow! This is a cross between a trampoline and a bounce house , and is under a great shady spot. Little guy walked around the outer sides of the bounce pillow but seemed to enjoy himself. Also available are sandboxes, slides, swings, and much more! My little guy is still too young to do the mega slide by himself and I wasn’t able to go down with him. Maybe next year he’ll be ready. For the most part, these attractions were included with the cost of admission. As an added bonus, there was a large mobile zip line and gyroscope ride that did cost extra, but again, the prices seemed reasonable to me. Our little guy was too small so we didn’t really participate in the additional rides, but enjoyed watching kiddos come down the zip lines.

In addition to the main attraction of corn at Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree, the music was great! A local band called “Showdown” was the headliner this year and they sounded awesome. To me what was interesting was the volume level. They were loud enough to really be heard all over, (remember even in the parking lot), but you could still have a conversation as long as you weren’t right in front of the speakers. The folks at Long & Scott Farms really made a big effort to make this a family friendly event, and once again they exceeded our expectations. Next year I would recommend bringing lawn chairs so you can hang out and listen to the music all afternoon, and if you have little ones in tow, you may want to skip the umbrella stroller. Their little wheels could become difficult to push through the batten down corn field. Instead, if you have a wagon with large wheels you should be fine. Remember to pack lots of sunscreen and drink plenty of fluids. Shade at the farm can be hard to come by, so be sure to plan accordingly. Remember this venue does not allow pets or coolers. (I believe more so for food safety reasons than anything else, remember the Scotts Zellwood Sweetcorn Jamboree is actually held on an actual working farm!)

After a fun-filled afternoon of music, corn, playgrounds, and jump pillows, we made our way to the exit. Just like at a theme park, you get funneled through the gift shop! Ok, so it’s actually the produce market, (the actual gift shop is to the right of the exit), but feel free to grab some awesome locally grown healthy produce on your way out. Don’t feel like dragging a bunch of sweet corn to your car? You can actually buy a ticket that you can trade for bags of corn right before you leave the farm. No lines, and they’ll probably even help you load it up if you asked. Didn’t get your fill of sweet corn at Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree? Don’t worry, they also offer online corn ordering and shipping for a limited time after the jamboree.

A major reason why we keep coming back to Long & Scott Farms is because we enjoy supporting local, family run businesses with great products, and you don’t really get to see friendlier people anywhere! From the actual staff, the volunteers that worked the event, as well as the other guests, there is just something magical about being down home on the farm. I actually think there is something in the air that not only makes the veggies grow, but seems to make folks a bit kinder. The intention I believe is to make this an annual event that will get bigger and better with time, but if you ask me, it was perfect this year! We’ll keep you posted as to the dates for next year’s Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree!

Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree Details:
Website:	http://www.longandscottfarms.com/scotts_maze_adventures.html
Date(s):	2015 TBD	Time(s):	10am – 5pm
Address:	26216 County Road 448-A, Mt. Dora Fl 32757
Cost Analysis:
Parking:	Adult:	Child 5-12:	Senior:	Annual:	Dyett Factor:
$1	$12	$8	N.A.	N.A.	N.A.
Estimated Cost For A Family of 4 to enjoy the Scotts Zellwood Sweet Corn Jamboree:			$41 at gate ($37 in advance)
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