2019 Bean Hole Days In Pequot Lakes Brings Community Together

It’s that time of year again: the famous and unique Bean Hole Days took place in Pequot Lakes yesterday and today. Last night, the iron kettles full of beans were buried in the ground so they could cook. Today, the beans were served free of charge to the public and the bean king and queen were crowned.

This is the 81st year of the tradition that serves about 350 lbs. of beans to roughly 3,500 people. To understand how this event originated, you have to go all the way back to the 1930s.

“It started in 1938 and the reason why it started was the businessmen in the community wanted to thank the farmers for their service, so they would have a community picnic,” said Cindy Hidde, co-chair of Bean Hole Days.

Surprisingly, the beans actually don’t even come from Minnesota.

“The beans come from central Washington and they’re shipped and donated by Central Bean Company and we just handle them, and soak them, and season them,” said Bean Hole Days Volunteer Kirk Larson.

The town members are so serious about Bean Hole Days that they even have named the kettles that the beans are in. There’s Sven, Lena, Ole, Big Bertha, and of course, Baby Olga.

Hungry bean-eaters don’t just hail from Pequot Lakes, though – Bean Hole Days brings in people from all over the country and the world.

“We have people that come as far as Florida, South Carolina, I was contacted this morning from some people who had family coming in from Europe,” said Pequot Lakes Chamber of Commerce Director Katie Wassermann.

Before any beans are consumed, the King and Queen Bean must be named and give their royal taste test.

“It’s overwhelming, I’m so grateful, I want to thank all the people that made this happen, it’s a great honor; I’ll tell you, I’ve been called a lot of things as a school administrator, that’s the first time I’ve been called a bean, let alone a king bean, so I felt like singing VeggieTales,” said Pequot Lakes Superintendent and 2019 Bean King Chris Lindholm.

When it comes to the actual taste of the beans, everyone has their own opinion of the flavor, but almost everyone agrees that they are delicious.

“They’ve got a lot of bacon in them and they’re just overall really good,” said local resident Gus Ulm.

“This year they were really great,” said Sierra Larson, daughter of Kirk Larson.

“They’re delicious and I’ve never had them before,” said Breezy Point resident Ruth Kluka.

Everyone loves the beans, but what makes this event so special is how it brings the whole community together.

“You have people who grew up here and they come back to the town for Bean Hole Days,” said Wassermann.

“For the community it’s huge, it’s a huge tradition and it’s something different, no one has ever heard of Bean Hole Days, it’s about the only community that has that,” said local reporter and 2019 Bean Queen Nancy Vogt.

This year’s Bean Hole Days drew record numbers, and it’s a tradition in Pequot Lakes that will continue for years to come.