Zurich Bean Festival

 

 If you are a big fan of beans, it’s pretty obvious that you should be heading to Zurich’s Bean Festival, the number one event of the summer. But if you’re not a fan of beans, you should still probably be heading to Zurich’s Bean Festival, the number one event of the summer, because the Bean Festival has so much more to offer beyond beans. But it also definitely has beans. Lots and lots of beans.

 

The Bean Festival was started in 1966 as a way to celebrate what Zurich does best - grow beans! The bean business has always been booming in Zurich - they even received the very official title of “White Bean Capital of Canada” recognition of the truly tremendous amount of beans it was producing each year. 

 

After so many years of leaning on its beans for employment and nourishment, the people of Zurich finally decided to give something back to these little heroes, and Beanfest was born, as “a tribute to the local economy and the spirit of the community.” An article in the Zurich Citizen News announcing the first ever Beanfest taking place in 1966 went with the headline “Bean Festival Will Provide Fun’ - which pretty much says it all. The first Bean Festival featured musical entertainment, and a big pot of beans intended to feed all the people of Zurich. Communal bean pots were once common at agricultural fairs and public gatherings all over Huron County, but now they can only be found at historical or bean-themed events, which is a shame, because there are few things in life that feed as many people for very little money as a big pot of beans.

 

This year’s 57th Annual Bean Festival program includes music from local bands Tasty Newz and Pillowheads, food trucks, local vendors, classic cars, and, of course, beans! The Bean Festival is always held on the fourth Saturday of August, so come on out to Zurich on August 23 and 24. www.beanfest.ca Downtown Zurich

(If you don’t know what white beans are, it’s probably because you know them as navy beans, a nickname that this humble but mighty legume received after becoming one of the staple foods on U.S Naval Ships)