The 2020 spring semester would have marked 31 years of Cornstock, the annual event that “was derived from the 1969 Woodstock gathering and centers around peace and music,” according to a March 1991 article in The Concordian. The spring celebration is lauded as the event that students look forward to the most during the academic year. Concordia alumna Lisa Fuglie, who was a senior at the time, is credited for the idea of Cornstock, which was first held in April 1989. The first Cornstock was co-sponsored by the Campus Entertainment Commission and the Inter-Hall Council so the voice of the students was primary in planning the event. Each dormitory supplied funds so students would not have to pay to attend the event.
For more than a decade, Cornstock was held outside on Olin Hill. It featured mainly local artists as a way to keep costs associated with performances low and to support local artists. In its early years, the event was a daylong affair lasting from mid-morning until the late afternoon or early evening. By 1991, the event had grown in popularity and saw a record attendance of 1,200 students. During the early years of the event, Cornstock regularly sought to raise awareness or funding for a particular cause. Cornstock supported many different causes such as food drives, Earth Day, and breast cancer research. In 1994, due to a shrinking attendance, the event was shortened in length and brought in national and regional bands. This was the beginning of an effort by the Campus Entertainment Commission to help raise the event’s attendance. This change was successful as attendance increased to 2,500 students in 1996.
In 2000, Cornstock saw its first significant alterations. Despite the initial increase in turnout in 1996, overall attendance of the event was dropping. Cornstock was not holding the sustained attention of attendees, especially with lesser-known artists. As a result, a number of changes were implemented. Rather than being a halfday event, Cornstock was changed to an evening concert that hosted one band rather than many. Tickets were also sold to the community rather than just to students in order to generate more interest. The venue then changed in the 2000s with many of the Cornstock concerts now held in Jake Christiansen Stadium.
Throughout the 2000s and even into the 2010s, the event has continued to change in its makeup. Contests, games, and other additional forms of entertainment and activities have been added. The planning team has continued to please the student body by bringing in headliners along with more local bands. Student participation in the event planning has also evolved with the implementation of a Battle of the Bands, which allowed student groups to compete for a spot to open the concert. Throughout the years though, a consistent goal of the Campus Entertainment Commission is to find the best performers they can to give students the best experience possible.
Contributed by the Concordia College Archives