Zurich Bean Festival serves up another year of excitement

By Dan Rolph

A community tradition that has lasted generations is returning to Zurich this month, bringing neighbours and visitors together in a celebration of the area’s agricultural roots.

The Zurich Bean Festival will kick off Friday, Aug. 21 with an evening of entertainment and attractions including food trucks and a midway at 5 p.m. Fan favourites Chemically Altered and Tasty Newz will take to the main stage that evening.

The schedule for Saturday, Aug. 22, is packed with festivities starting with the Zurich Minor Athletic Association’s pancake and sausage breakfast from starting at 7 a.m.

The smoked pork chop and bean dinner, the main event that started it all, will be held at the old bean kitchen site on Victoria Lane starting at 11 a.m.

The Zurich bean Festival traces its roots back to neighbouring Hensall, where the first ever Ontario Bean Festival was hosted in 1954 on Labour Day. With the festival’s success in Hensall, community members in Zurich set out to host a festival of their own that would feed visitors both beans and traditional French and German dishes. By the end of that first festival in Zurich, thousands of hungry attendees had been served 600 pounds of beans.

While speaking of this year’s festival, committee member Heidi Klopp said one of the newest additions, the dunk tank, will raise funds for future festivals. With local politicians including South Huron Mayor George Finch and Bluewater Mayor Paul Klopp signing up to get in the tank alongside many others, she said it is sure to be fun for everyone.

“We thought that it’s something fun that everybody can take part in,” she said. “It’s all ages. We’ve got local celebrities and community members in Zurich lined up.”

Another mainstay of the festival, the Wrench Benders Car Club car show, will also be back this year, bringing more than 600 classic cars to the festival. However, organizers announced that this year’s event will not include the cruise that was featured in previous years, mainly due to safety concerns.

Last year’s exciting addition, the Battle of the Bands, is also making a comeback for 2026, putting five local bands head-to-head in a competition for a $1,000 prize. This year’s competition will feature The Half Smokes, Stacy Cross, Unframed, Clipped Wingz and Circle the City.

“People were really into it,” said Klopp. “It was really great. We’re looking forward to doing that again.”

The exciting evening of music will cap off with last year’s Battle of the Bands winner, Roemers, returning to perform and bring the festival to a close.

Though the Zurich Bean Festival has been feeding crowds for generations, Klopp said the committee is calling this year’s event the 59th festival, since organizers moved the festival online for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

And with a momentous anniversary on the horizon for 2027, Klopp said organizers are already looking ahead to making next year extra special.

“We’ve got lots of ideas,” said Klopp. “We want to make it a big one.”

For more information about the Zurich Bean Festival, or to learn about getting involved, visit beanfest.ca.