Those watching their caloric intake might want to take a pause June 10.
That's when Midland's salute to the rich, syrupy Canadian staple takes centre stage during Ontario’s Best Butter Tart Festival.
This marks the ninth time the town has hosted the event, which brings thousands to the downtown core and waterfront as vendors sell their wares along King Street and various activities take place in Harbourside and David Onley Parks.
Mayor Bill Gordon said the festival is one of the town’s annual highlights and “we can’t wait to welcome festival visitors" to Midland this June.
Gordon will declare the festival open at 9 a.m. following the Piping of the Tart with the Midland Legion’s Pipes and Drums.
Recognized as a top 100 festival and event by Festival and Events Ontario in February 2019, 2020 and 2023, the award-winning festival first began in 2013. It is considered the original and largest butter tart festival in Canada, drawing 60,000 visitors for the one-day event.
“Ontarians love their butter tarts,” said Karen Mealing, the town’s culture and community manager, who is also one of the festival organizers.
“Whether you like your butter tarts plain or with raisins, with a runny or firm filling, or vegan or gluten-free, everyone will be able to find a favourite at our festival.”
In addition to the 200,000-plus butter tarts available that day, the festival features many downtown merchants who will expand their businesses onto the sidewalks in front of their establishments and more than 200 vendors selling everything from butter tarts to clothing, jewellery, home décor, personal care products and hand-crafted items.
There will also be food trucks for those who aren’t just making butter tarts their sole food source for the day.
The free festival features the Dairy Farmers of Ontario Stage with live music by bands including Gibbons & Figgs, Memphis Mudd, and Kitty and the Boyz.
Other family-friendly activities include a kids’ zone at Harbourside Park as well as buskers and performers entertaining visitors throughout the day-long event.
Professional and amateur/home bakers will vie for the title of baking the Best Butter Tart at the Egg Farmers of Ontario Butter Tart Contest.
Contest categories range from the traditional (plain, raisin, pecan or walnut) to “wild style,” which feature butter tarts with a non-traditional ingredient or two).
For anyone interested in sampling the same tarts as the judges, mixed six-packs of contest butter tarts will be available for sale for $15.
Visitors can park offsite and enjoy travelling to and from the festival in free shuttle buses. There will also be a free bike valet for those riding to the event. Mid-Pen Transit will run at no cost on festival day and provide a free festival shuttle back and forth to Penetanguishene.
Visitors looking for more information on the butter tart contest, free shuttles, accessible parking and other details, can click here or follow the festival on social media.
