After their success last year, the Riverhurst Bean Festival is returning once again to highlight the importance of pulse crop producers and what they do — in an entertaining festival, no less.
The Bean Festival is taking over Riverhurst on July 27, beginning with a hearty breakfast at 8am before attendees are invited out on a field tour with some experts to show them the ropes, including representatives from the Irrigation Crop Diversification Corporation.
Last year, the field tour was a big hit, and organizer Terry Brennan is happy to have it return again. The festival focuses on pulse crops because they are prevalent in the area, and a branch of agriculture that often doesn’t see the spotlight.
“Our theme this year is more than just beans, because people don't recognize that a lentil or a pea is maybe a pulse crop, so it's for the whole pulse industry,” said Brennan.
“The field to the table concept is sometimes lost. It just doesn't magically appear in the grocery store,” she added. “It is an expensive crop to grow. . . and I think that is lost on people sometimes too.”
While some will be wandering through a local field and experiencing pulse crops in their natural habitat, the Pulse Ingredient Culinary Challenge will begin it’s judging in the hall between 10:30 and 11am.
The challenge is to develop a dish made with a pulse ingredient — which includes beans, peas, lentils, and chickpeas, for example — to present to the judges on festival day. They will take a look at presentation, flavour, and texture before choosing a winner in each of the four categories.
Also at 11am, the Trade Show will open it's doors, featuring a number of vendors to check out. Local artisans will be selling their wares alongside informational booths and displays from agriculture mainstays: John Deere Western Sales, Dry Bean World, Nutrien Ag Solutions, and a number of others.
The beer gardens will kick off at 11am as well, with appropriately themed drinks — Rebellion Brewing’s lentil beer, among others — and the impressive tunes of local band Bradford’s Corner.
The “Bean a Classic” Show & Shine will begin at 1pm, providing some automotive eye candy to take up the afternoon.
And of course the kids aren’t forgotten: Palliser Regional Library has sponsored the Funtazm Puppet Show to entertain crowds in the Riverhurst Campground at 11am, and at 1pm, the Sask Reptile Show will introduce a menagerie of scaly friends.
The Creek 4-H Rootin’ Tootin’ Rodeo gets underway at 4:30pm, featuring stick horse barrels, a bucking bull relay, roping, and chicken team penning.
To wrap up the day, Picket Equipment will host one of their Equipment School sessions at 5:30pm, where they answer questions and give demonstrations about how to properly use and maintain one’s equipment for pulse farming.
Overall, Brennan encourages folks to make the trip out to Riverhurst for the day, as it's a perfect chance to learn more about how things like pinto beans make it into your pantry — and it’s also sure to be a fun experience.
“It's a family day, but there should be a little something for every member of the family that they can enjoy and learn more about the industry itself,” said Brennan.
All events during the festival are free of admission, thanks to the many sponsors for the day.
