Joe Regan and JJ Snedikes win NEMPAC North End Cornhole Classic

Joe Regan and JJ Snedikes won the 9th Annual North End Cornhole Classic, taking the championship on the Rose Kennedy Greenway as storm clouds failed to thin the crowd at North End Park. The Sunday tournament opened with registration at 11 a.m. and began at noon, and NEMPAC said participation tickets sold out before play started, leaving free spectator passes for the rest of the field.

The win gave the Regan-Snedikes pairing the clearest competitive headline from a day built around both play and purpose. NEMPAC has run the cornhole classic since 2016, and the event again served as a fundraiser for the Geraldine Marshall Scholarship Fund, NEMPAC and the Community Music Center of Boston. The scholarship fund was established in 2014 by State Rep. Aaron Michlewitz in memory of his mother, Geraldine Marshall, who was born in Dorchester in 1946, moved to the North End at 21 and lived there for nearly 50 years.

That mission has given the tournament staying power well beyond a single afternoon of bags and brackets. NEMPAC says the scholarship fund provides full-year scholarships for North End children under 18 to take music lessons or join artistic programs, and since its launch it has supported 54 students with more than $59,000. A separate review of the fund’s growth put the total at $45,000 for 42 young artists and musicians at an earlier point, underscoring how quickly the effort has widened its reach.

The tournament’s appeal was visible in the turnout. Hundreds of players and spectators came to the Greenway despite the weather, turning the cornhole classic into one of the North End’s more durable summer gatherings. The event’s draw also showed up in its raffle, where Kate Donaldson won two World Cup Soccer tickets and a parking pass at Boston Stadium. NEMPAC’s prize promotion described the giveaway as two tickets and a parking pass for the Group Stage World Cup match between Norway and France at Gillette Stadium on June 26.

The 2026 title adds another chapter to a tournament that has steadily grown since its launch. In 2024, the event drew more than 500 community members and 131 teams, with Paul Coutoumas and Roe taking first place. With Regan and Snedikes now on the winners’ list, the North End Classic again delivered a champion and reinforced why the tournament has become a fixture: it rewards competitive cornhole while helping bankroll arts access for North End kids.