‘Cornival’ tournament to benefit Boys & Girls Club

At Saturday’s “Cornival,” the focus will be on food, music, prizes and friendly cornhole matches.

The event, a fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Ellettsville, asks for a suggested minimum pledge of $50, with 100 percent of the proceeds supporting the club.

Throughout the event, 45-minute time slots beginning at noon and concluding at 4:45 p.m. will feature simultaneous games that will feature up to a total of 160 cornhole participants.

“If we get over 160 people, I will do a dance,” said Jeff Baldwin, executive director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington.

Established in April, the Ellettsville branch is relatively new but took part in recent events such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bloomington’s “Strawberry Festival.”

The plan is to keep the Cornival around for the long term.

“We hope for the Cornival to be a reoccurring event,” Ellettsville Clubs Center Director Amy Matney said.

Once registered, participants receive a T-shirt and enter a raffle for small prizes such as pizza coupons, free sandwiches and car washes. A larger grand prize will be announced at the end of the day’s activities.

Fundraising within the Cornival will include selling tickets to a haunted train ride and other “corn-related games” and raffles, Baldwin said.

“We don’t have the same kind of retention as Bloomington Clubs because of travel,” said Jessica Kee, volunteer coordinator for the Boys & Girls Club of Ellettsville.

Though Kee said that no one from IU consistently volunteers, she said that there are still groups and individuals volunteering their time.

“A lot of parents and families are helping, and we have a sorority from IU coming to help out,” Matney said.