You’ve seen the game that’s popular at backyard parties and sports tailgates, where you try to throw beanbags through a slanted board with a hole in it. It's the game known as cornhole. This weekend, what amounts to the Super Bowl of cornhole is taking place at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
"This is the world's largest cornhole tournament," said John Karayan, who founded the Throw Down Cornhole Festival, happening August 21 to 23 at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
He owns a popular Ventura restaurant, Spencer Makenzie’s. The festival started as an end-of-summer party at the restaurant more than 15 years ago and kept growing until he had to move it to the Ventura County Fairgrounds.
"It just grew and grew. I had the first organized cornhole tournament on the West Coast," said Karayan.
This year, Karayan said they expect about 1,200 competitors and 600 teams. People are coming from all over the country.
Brad Kurth of Kernersville, North Carolina, played for fun. He owns a roofing company. But he liked cornhole so much he started a second company, AAR Cornhole, to make cornhole accessories.
"We got into cornhole eight or nine years ago. I sponsored some of the players, and then we decided to make our own bags and apparel. Cornhole is a big family," said Kurth.
"We have guys like myself, who aren't very good, and we have the pros playing. We'll have a great time. The pros are playing for the $40,000 in prize money," he laughed.
Setting up another booth filled with accessories is Richard Buchalter of Moorpark. His love of the sport turned into a cornhole event management and accessories business, called Cornhole Good. In fact, he even owns a team in the nation’s professional cornhole league.
He partners with businesses to host cornhole tournaments, and he owns the Arizona Burn, the first all-women's professional cornhole team. The league has ten teams.
"It's more of a passion thing right now, but the long-term goal is to make money. Right now, it's a startup and an investment," said Buchalter.
ESPN will televise the finals of the professional division of the festival in Ventura Sunday night. In addition to the cornhole competition, the festival will feature concerts, MMA fights, and an event: a more than 200-foot aerial jump by an Evel Knievel-style motorcycle daredevil.
