Zukes! No Cuke! exhibit opening

About this event

The Historical Society of Cheshire County (HSCC) will open “Zukes No Cukes, a new exhibit that highlights the history of the International Zucchini Festival of the 1980s”. A public reception will be held on September 2, 2026, from 4–6 p.m. at the Society’s main exhibit gallery, 246 Main Street, Keene. The exhibit runs through December 31, 2026. Zukes No Cukes traces the festival’s humble origins as a 1982 fundraiser for the Harrisville School through its run as one of the Monadnock Region’s most talked-about events, with coverage in the Boston Globe, Newsday, and the Wall Street Journal. The exhibit recreates the festival’s “creative whimsy,” celebrating categories that made its agricultural-style exhibit hall famous. Contestants earned the coveted green ribbon prize for such things as the Farthest Traveled Zucchini, Most Grotesque Zucchini Not Grown Within Ten Miles of a Nuclear Power Plant, and the ever-contested Best Zucchini Casserole and Worst Zucchini Casserole. THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS: The Putnam Foundation, Kingsbury Fund, Fenton Family Dealerships, Savings Bank of Walpole, Hamblet Electric, kcs Architects, Lehnen Industrial Services, the Keene Sentinel, Steelman Production Services, Prime Roast Coffee, Solus Studio, Beeze Tees, AMT Productions, NH PBS, and Historic Harrisville. Artwork © Marek Bennett www.MarekBennett.com

Description from hsccnh.org