Valparaiso Popcorn Festival

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The Valparaiso Popcorn Festival began in 1979 as a way to salute then-Valparaiso, Indiana-native Orville Redenbacher and popcorn.

Scheduled annually on the first Saturday after Labor Day, the Valparaiso Popcorn Festival is held in the downtown Valparaiso area from 7am-6:30pm.

Included in the festivities are a 5-mile run (the Popcorn Panic), a block-long kiddie run (the Lil' Kernel Puff), 5-mile walk, live entertainment, hundreds of food and craft vendors and the nation's first Popcorn Parade. Parade designers, like those for the Rose Bowl Parade, are encouraged to use the title's substance (in this case, popcorn) in their float designs. Designed with the entire family in mind, early Festivals even offered free popcorn to every attendee.