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Who is Penticton’s Crazy Chilliwack Corn Man?

The Corn Man has been selling Chilliwack corn in the Okanagan for almost 10 years
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The “Crazy Chilliwack Corn Man” with his truck and the corn he sells for $1 a cob. (Clayton Whitelaw - Western News)

One of the best summer foods is corn, and no corn is better than Chilliwack corn.

Nowhere in Penticton is better to buy your corn from than the ‘Crazy Chilliwack Corn Man.’

Whether you’re in Maple Ridge, Abbotsford or Hope, there are pop-up stands selling Chilliwack corn all summer long, and locals flock to them every day to buy the best corn available.

The crisp bite.

The sweet crunch.

Everything about Chilliwack corn makes it one of the best summer foods around. Unfortunately, there aren’t many places to buy Chilliwack corn in the Okanagan; no one makes the three-hour trip from Chilliwack just to sell corn.

Except, of course, if you are the Crazy Chilliwack Corn Man, who shows up at the empty lot beside the Wendy’s on Main Street. You can’t miss his mounds of corn coming from the back of his truck.

“My name, the Crazy Chilly-wack Corn Man, koo-koo ka-chew. I come up with a truck full of sweet Chilliwack ladies, it’s true. Why have I done that for nine years? Because I’m the only one that’s got the balls to do it.”

For close to 10 years, he’s been bringing corn up to the Okanagan from Chilliwack; seven years in Westbank where he lived and for the last three in Penticton.

“It’s because of the people that live here; more open and light-minded. 98.7 per cent of (my customers), very open, loving people. Care about each other, care about themselves, and that’s what I like,” said Crazy Chilliwack Corn Man.

Corn Man has spent his life driving trucks all across North America, so for him making the three-hour trip every day from Chilliwack to Penticton isn’t a challenge.

Chilliwack corn sellers across southern B.C. never gain the kind of notoriety Corn Man does, they’re just the ones behind the stand that collect your money and hand you your corn. People tend to flock to Corn Man to buy their summer-fill of sweet cobs.

Pentictonites even take to Facebook to ask if the Corn Man is in town today.

“Well…he’s got great corn,” one corn-enthusiast said about why they come to Corn Man.

“He’s just so loose and open and fun, he’s great to be around,” another said.

The easiest way to prepare corn is generally to boil it. It cooks quickly and it’s hassle-free. But corn man, being quite the expert, says “don’t boil it.”

“On the barbecue. Trim off her beard, trim off her leaves, and just roast her nice and golden brown,” he said.

If you fancy yourself a man or woman of the cob and are looking for the best value and highest quality corn money can buy, there is no better place in Penticton than the Crazy Chilliwack Corn Man. Don’t be surprised if Corn Man asks you to take a quick bite, to test just how delicious the Chilly-wack yellow vegetable is.