The Ballybunion Bean Festival was a big success last weekend, with guests enjoying the sunshine in the woodlands, gardens and organic meadows of The Barna Way just outside town on August 22 and 23. The programme mixed comedy, live music, art, conversation and yoga with local, organic and vegan food, all built around one humble hero: the bean.
Panels explored what beans can do for the planet, for creative communities and for the body. Chef Lily Toomey made the case for beans as a protein source in a changing climate, pointing out that they fix nitrogen in the soil and can be grown at any scale, from a garden bed to a full farm. Artist Lisa Fingleton called it a radical festival in the original sense: getting to the root of things, supporting soil, local growers and world class cooking without toxic chemicals. This year the festival was funded by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.
Sunday began with a Soil Salutations yoga session, comedian Breda Larkin followed with Diary of a Bean Queen, and then everyone rolled back to town by bike and Bean bus for the Bean Fair and a nature walk at The Old Attic on Main Street. Harpist Niamh O'Brien and singer Sailhymn provided the soundtrack, and The Gourmet Offensive cooked the locally grown beans.
Ballybunion is about 20 minutes from our Listowel townhouse, and its Blue Flag beach and cliff walk are worth the trip in any season. If you missed the beans this year, the town is still very much on the menu.