The Alabama Butterbean Festival has come to an end after 20 years in Pinson, but conflicting accounts remain over what led to the festival’s closure and whether anything similar might take its place.

In a March 17 press release, the Clay-Pinson Chamber of Commerce announced it is restructuring and moving away from its traditional role, saying newly elected leadership in Clay and Pinson had chosen not to continue funding the organization “in its current form.”

The Chamber said the shift would move its focus toward fundraising initiatives and partnerships benefiting education and first responders.

Festival organizers separately confirmed the event’s end in a Facebook post, writing, “After 20 incredible years in Pinson, Alabama, The Alabama Butterbean Festival has come to a close.”

But Pinson Mayor Hoyt Sanders disputed the Chamber’s characterization in comments to the Trussville Tribune, saying the city had not voted to withdraw funding for the festival or formally end support for the Chamber.

“It is an incorrect statement that we voted to pull funding for the Butterbean Festival,” Sanders told the Tribune.

According to the news outlet, Sanders said city officials had been asking questions about the Chamber’s broader service agreement, not the Butterbean Festival itself.

“We had a couple questions about the general service side,” Sanders said. “In my mind we were working through some things and then were notified about their decision yesterday.”

The Chamber’s press release, however, framed the move as a response to a significant shift in municipal support.

Board President Dean Kirkner said the organization was “disappointed by the decision from new city leadership to withdraw financial support,” but added that the Chamber’s commitment to Clay and Pinson remains strong.

The dispute appears to center not only on the festival, but on the Chamber’s wider role. The Tribune reported that discussion at Pinson’s Feb. 5 council meeting focused on questions about what the Chamber was providing outside of the annual event.

Former Pinson Mayor Robbie Roberts added another layer of context in his own Facebook post, saying he spoke with several Chamber board members and came away believing there was little hope for an Alabama Butterbean Festival this year.

Roberts said the Chamber owns the Alabama Butterbean Festival name, mascot and web address, tracing that ownership to the merger of the original festival group into the Chamber.

He also said the Chamber had been asked whether it would host the event for a flat $10,000 fee without any guarantee of broader Chamber funding, but that Chamber leaders maintained the organization and the festival were not separable.

Roberts wrote that while the city may try to host another fall festival, “it doesn’t look like it will be the ‘Alabama Butterbean Festival.’”

That account differs somewhat from Sanders’ comments to the Tribune. Sanders said the city would try to preserve the event in some form.

“We will be looking to make efforts to keep it going,” Sanders told the newspaper.

What appears settled for now is the fate of the Alabama Butterbean Festival itself: the Chamber and festival organizers have both announced that it has ended.

What remains unsettled is whether Pinson can create a successor event — and whether the city and Chamber can resolve the dispute over how one of the community’s signature traditions came to a close.

Sherri Blevins is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You may contact her at [email protected].