If you are busting for butter tarts, make your way to downtown Barrie.
The city is hosting the 2nd Barrie Butter Tart Festival, in conjunction with the Downtown Barrie BIA and Gotta Luv Butter Tarts.
It's taking place on Saturday, July 12, 2025 along Dunlop Street East, Meridian Place, and Dunlop Street West and will feature more than 50 local and small business owners showcasing everything from butter tarts, baked goods, and sweet treats, along with marketplace vendors.
Helen Prucha, owner of Gotta Luv Butter Tarts, says they dabbled in Barrie at a local mall in 2023 and it was crazy busy.
"Some of the BIA came out and said Barrie is the home of the original butter tart recipe and it would be perfect for downtown Barrie, and they asked me a few times and I finally said yes."
The earliest published Canadian recipe for the butter tart dates back to 1903 in Barrie and can be found in The Women's Auxiliary of the Royal Victoria Hospital Cookbook. According to Wikipedia, the recipe was submitted by Mary Ethel MacLeod for a butter tart filling, and the original cookbook and recipe is housed at the Simcoe County Archives.
Saturday's event is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature several local VIPs taking part in a butter tart judging.
Butter Tart Festival Line-up:
- 10:00am to 4:00pm Open Air Dunlop Butter Tart Festival and More
- 11:00 am to 1:00 pm Tart Showdown
- 1:30 pm Butter Tart Winner Announcement
- 4:00 pm Live Music at Meridian Place featuring Second Hand Rumours – a Fleetwood Mac tribute band comprised of music teachers from Music Lessons Barrie
- 8:00 pm Shania Twink hits the stage for a full-on country-pop tribute concert featuring members of July Talk, Dwayne Gretzky, and Bahamas
