In 2013, neighbors Janice and Molly decided to start a rhubarb celebration. Why? you might ask. They were looking for a fund-raising activity to benefit the town library’s building fund, and they thought that it was high time that there was a town fest of some sort. Rhubarb is the ‘first fruit of the season’ and by early June, the plant is up and thriving in gardens all over the region. No other town in the area had a Rhubarb Festival, so it had to be Rhubarb! After much planning, they held a bake sale on the Library Lawn in early June. The next year, a baking contest, a face-painter, craft sellers, a children’s Fun Run, and a basket raffle joined the bake sale. By 2020, the Town’s Recreation Committee was involved in the planning, but there was no Festival that year at all due to the Pandemic.

Resuming in 2021, the Festival had moved from the Library Lawn to a town ball-field to give us more room. Events began on Friday evening with live music, food trucks, and contest entries being delivered. Many more crafters, a petting-zoo, the Rhubarb Store, a Hollerin’ Contest, and Drink Your Rhubarb made the Festival larger and even more fun. The King Arthur Flour company sponsored the Pie Baking Contest — Rhubarb of course — and money was raised for the Library Building Fund from the sale of baked goods and books.

The Festival is still going strong and is always held on the first weekend of June, on Saturday, beginning at 10 am. This year will be our 10th anniversary. Plan to join us at Sawyer Park, Bennington, NH. If you would like to help out, please send your contact info to Rhubarb Committee, c/o G.E.P. Dodge Library . If you would like to help the Building Fund, please contribute any amount to the G.E.P. Dodge Library Building Fund.

The next installment will be posted on April 11. If you click the Follow button, all future posts will be sent straight to your inbox every month.