Yum! Lima beans! What? You don’t think so? Come to the Lima Bean Festival on Saturday, Oct. 6 where this lovely and lowly legume gets to be the center of our celebration. You will be amazed at the way the lima bean can be rendered, regaled, represented, respected and rejected. Wait!? Not rejected!
Now in its 33rd year, our Lima Bean Festival is the largest in the country and perhaps the world. Held in the Lima Bean Capital of West Cape May, this quirky celebration of a bean that has dubious distinction really is a fun time in a borough that preserves its character as “small town America.”
Lima beans were grown commercially here for years before they were outsourced to other countries by big businesses, but that doesn’t stop the locals from honoring the farming heritage that West Cape May remembers as its major agricultural crop.
Savor a huge variety of lima bean-inspired foods including soups, chili, crepes, empanadas, stews, cupcakes, pies, cookies, muffins, hummus, salsa, sauces and handcrafted sodas. Of course there will be fresh lima beans for sale, some grown at one of the oldest farms in West Cape May.
It’s not just a great food fest! Local arts and crafts vendors are selling lima bean-themed T-shirts, hats, bags, pottery and jewelry with fun displays. And fitting with West Cape May, you’ll find unusual antiques and collectibles.
Local musicians will be entertaining us all day! Come hear The Squares at 9 a.m., The Geno White Trio at 11 a.m., C. Lynne Smith at 1 p.m. and The Capers at 3:15 p.m. We will be crowning the King and Queen of the Lima Bean Festival at 3 p.m. Yes, you could be chosen!
Admission is free. Festival runs from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Wilbraham Park, at the intersection of West Perry Street & Broadway in West Cape May. Rain date is Sunday, Oct. 7. Proceeds benefit the West Cape May Shade Tree Commission. For more information, call Sharon Flanagan at (609) 886-0412 or visit www.westcapemay.us.