Berne's biggest weekend
Every year on the last full weekend of July, downtown Berne transforms into a Swiss festival. What began some fifty years ago as a humble sidewalk sale called Berne Summer Days has grown into a three-day celebration of the town's heritage — over 100 food and craft vendors, authentic Swiss costume, live music, and games you won't find at any other Indiana festival.
What you'll see (and eat)
The food alone is worth the trip: brats, homemade pies, kettle corn, and festival treats line the downtown streets, with many of Berne's own restaurants and businesses joining in. Then come the competitions — the legendary Steintoss (Swiss stone toss), the Brat Eating Contest, a cornhole tournament, horse pulls, recliner races, grape stomps, cheese carving, a Bake-Off, and Big Wheel races for the little ones.
The Saturday parade rolls through downtown at 4:30 PM, the Little Miss Swiss Days crowning charms the crowd, and free live music runs all weekend — polka bands, yodelers, folk dancing, and more. Add the Car, Tractor & Quilt Shows, a kids' play zone, and free tours of Berne businesses, and there's truly something for every age.
And the festival isn't confined to downtown: the Swiss Heritage Village hosts parts of Swiss Days too, bringing the celebration onto its 26 acres of original 1800s buildings — the perfect setting for a festival about Berne's Swiss roots. Make time for both ends of town.
The story behind it
Berne was founded in 1852 by roughly seventy Swiss Anabaptist Mennonite settlers who left Switzerland seeking religious freedom, naming their new home after the capital of their old one. Swiss Days is the town's way of keeping that story alive — and sharing it, along with a plate of festival food, with everyone who visits.
Make it a food weekend
Festival food is only the beginning. Come early for breakfast at one of Berne's hometown restaurants, cool off with a cone at Grandma Stutzman's, and catch the glockenspiel at the Clock Tower between events. This is the best eating weekend of the year in Berne.