It will be a sweet, gooey day in Fergus on Sunday.
The For The Love of Buttertarts and Chocolate Festival will bring over 20,000 butter tarts to the Centre Wellington Community Sportsplex as at least 20 different vendors vie for the honour of being judged the best butter tart at the show by a panel of six judges.
Before that, thousands of butter tarts will be eaten.
“There will be a mix of home bakers and the best in the business,” says Christine Ivany, whose company All Canadian Events is putting on the show.
“For most, they started out as at home bakers and grew into the their small restaurant or cafes you see in your town.”
The event takes place Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is $2 for those 12 and older.
Ivany has been running different shows for 10 years, mainly craft markets.
“I came up with this idea because, well, who doesn't like butter tarts?” she said.
She also wanted to make festivals like this more accessible for local bakers and chocolatiers, who often have to travel far and wide to find these type of specialty events.
On the event Facebook page, 1,000 people say they plan on attending and 12,000 say they are interested.
Ivany said this will be the start of a series of butter tart events, with another planned for Paris, Ont., in October.
But don’t expect those butter tart makers to share their secrets on Sunday.
Everyone has their secret ingredients and methods and “bakers guard these recipes with their life,” Ivany said.
“They’re locked up in family traditions. Many are great great grandmothers recipes passed down generation to generation.
“Though the recipes are classic and truly sinfully the best, the butter tart has been given some makeovers over the years,” Ivany said.
“Many have added chocolate chips, marshmallows, Skor bits or even liquor to their recipes.”
Ivany said there will be 20 bakers, plus chocolatiers and craft vendors. There will also be gluten-free options.
There will even be someone selling soy candles in a butter tart and maple scent.
“I would say butter tarts are about as Canadian as Tim Hortons,” Ivany said.
Six volunteers have been chosen to judge. They will be judging on originality, presentation and taste.
