Barnum Festival Adds Cornhole to Its 2023 Schedule of Events

The Barnum Festival is calling all Cornholers to join the 2023 Festival by signing up for its inaugural Cornhole Tournament, scheduled for January 21st at the Sports Plex in Fairfield.

Brian Estrada and Erik Marko, co-chairmen of the Cornhole tournament, are celebrating the Festival’s return of its traditional full event schedule for the first time since 2019 adding a new event.

One of the most popular backyard games in the country, Cornhole involves individual players or teams of two tossing bean bags at a 2-foot by 4-foot board with a hole in it. Players earn one point for tossing a bag on the board, three points for throwing a bag into the hole. The team that scores 21 in a match wins.

Marko, the son-in-law of the 2023 Festival Ringmaster George Estrada, and Brian, George’s son, hope to capitalize on the incredible popularity of the game. Marko, 42, has competed in Cornhole leagues, and Brian, his friend, thought it was a natural fit for the Festival, giving it exposure beyond its traditional summer events.

“We wanted to introduce fresh ideas for the Festival,” Marko said. “George wants to expand the Festival audience, bring in new faces and grow the Festival. We see Cornhole as a great way to do that.”

The Cornhole Tournament chairmen expect to draw a field of 16 to 32 teams, which will compete in a round-robin format, guaranteeing 3 games of competition. The winners of the first round advance to a knock-out round until a championship team is crowned. The teams will consist of two members, and entrance fee is $80 per team. The champion team winner has the option to ride in the Barnum Festival’s Great Street Parade. Cornhole teams can sign up on the Festival website, www.barnumfestival.org, and the chairmen welcome sponsors to help promote the first Cornhole Tournament.

“This tournament is a great way to participate in the Festival on a cold winter’s night,” Brian said. “We expect it to generate excitement for the Festival and draw new people into it.”

The chairmen are still planning the new event and look to add a twist by requiring cornholers to wear mittens as they throw the bean bags.

Brian grew up with the Festival because of his father’s involvement in it over the last thirty years. Brian, a salesman for Job Target, fondly recalls as a child, staking out a spot on Park Avenue to watch the parade and taking part in the Wing Ding, the children’s parade where kids create their own floats. As a teen, Brian, 35, was also named as part of the Festival Royal Family when he was a senior at Notre Dame of Fairfield High School.

Marko, a physical education teacher at Osborne Hill Elementary School and father of two children, has also been involved in the Festival since his childhood. As a kid, he participated in the Wing Ding and was named a float winner one year. He was always enthralled with the Shriners in their small cars and the colorful costumes of the Mummers marching in the parade.

“I met my wife when she was sixteen and being involved with the Estrada family, I had no choice but to get even more involved in the Festival,” Marko said. “It’s been a great experience and now I have a chance to bring more to the Festival with the Cornhole Tournament.”