Rhubarb Festival

Polly Checkland Harding

Visit now

Rhubarb Festival

17-23 February 2020

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Rhubarb Festival - Wakefield
Image courtesy of Rhubarb Festival - Wakefield.
Book now

The city of Wakefield is in the heart of Yorkshire’s Rhubarb Triangle, a nine-square-mile area of the country between Wakefield, Rothwell and Morley that’s been in the business of growing rhubarb for hundreds of years. This incredible agricultural tradition is what Wakefield’s Rhubarb Festival commemorates, a week-long celebration of the cultural heritage that surrounds this unusual vegetable (often used for desserts, rhubarb is nonetheless a vegetable). A strange subject for a festival, you might argue – but Yorkshire forced rhubarb is nothing if not a prestigious foodstuff, having been awarded Protected Designation of Origin status in 2010, joining the likes of Champagne and Parma ham. Heady culinary company, indeed, and justification, if any was needed, for one of the highlights of Wakefield’s festival calendar.

Previous iterations of the Rhubarb Festival have seen an exhibition by acclaimed photographer Martin Parr displayed in Wakefield’s former market hall, and the recreation of an actual forced rhubarb shed. Complete with 200 shoots of real rhubarb growing under candlelight, this was a special introduction to the smells and distinctive crackle that forced rhubarb makes as it grows. Lantern walks, storytelling, tractor rides, folk music performances and morris dancers have also featured, as well as food demonstrations in keeping with the theme of the festival and comedy at the temporary ‘Rhu-bar’.

As you might expect for a food-themed event, visitors haven’t been left hungry: not only has a food and drink market been a central feature, with artisan breads, preserves, cheeses, cakes, wines and more for sale, it’s also been accompanied by a street food and vegan market selling delicious offerings to hungry punters. If you’re visiting Wakefield to attend this special festival, our top picks for places to stay include the fully-furnished, serviced apartments at Courtyard Mews, Luxury Suites and Studios by BOOTique  and, a little further out of the city centre, Holmfield Arms, which is surrounded by beautiful parkland.

Where to go near Rhubarb Festival

Penistone Hill Country Park
Bradford
Park
Penistone Hill Country Park

As part of Bradford 2025’s UK City of Culture programme, Penistone Hill plays host to outdoor events that celebrate the enduring connection between landscape, identity and creativity.

Threshold is an artist-led project space for sculpture, located in the front garden of a traditional back-to-back house in Burley, Leeds. Exhibitions are open for all to view. Encounter sculpture on your daily walk, or way to work or school.
Leeds
Event venue
Threshold Leeds

Threshold is an artist-led project space for sculpture, located in the front garden of a traditional back-to-back house in Burley, Leeds.

The Engine Room Notice Board
Southport
Event venue
The Engine Room

The Engine Room is a creative community hub in Southport’s Wayfarers Arcade, offering co-working space, cultural events and collaborative opportunities for artists, freelancers and educators.

Leeds
Gallery
The Mill Gallery

The Mill Gallery is an artist-run space in Leeds, supporting emerging artists to develop and showcase their work authentically.

Church congregation at St George's Church in Leeds
Leeds
Place of worship
St George’s Church

St George’s is a lively city centre church in Leeds with three services every Sunday and a midweek programme that includes groups, courses and events. We’re here to help people

Picante
Liverpool
Restaurant
Picante

Picante is a sun-soaked Mexican restaurant at the trailblazing Cains Brewery Village in Liverpool.

Miru Mill
Manchester
Event venue
Miru Mill

Miru Mill is an event space and micro-factory based at Churchgate Mill in Stockport.

Spa
iglu sauna

An authentic and affordable sauna and cold plunge experience in Hebden Bridge, in a beautiful outdoor setting amongst the trees.

What's on: Festivals

Three men sit next to each other. One's head is bandaged, one holds a torch and one wears a sleepmask.
Until
CinemaManchester
Wes World at HOME

Take a trip back into the world of Wes Anderson this May as HOME present a series of the acclaimed auteur’s most beloved films alongside The Phoenician Scheme.

From £7.95
Four young female dancers in folk costumes, one looking at the camera
ActivityCathedral Quarter
Góbéfest

Góbéfest, Manchester’s original international urban folk music and dance festival, is back with a killer line up and the best of Central Europe.

Free entry
The Herds, The Walk Productions
FestivalsManchester
MIF25: THE HERDS

Manchester International Festival 2025 kicks off with an awe-inspiring outdoor spectacle as THE HERDS take to the streets of Manchester, Rochdale, and Wigan.

Free entry
FestivalsCity Centre
MIF25: Festival Square

Festival Square is the beating heart of Manchester International Festival 2025, returning to its riverside location once again.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Hannah Platt 'Playing Out', courtesy of Threshold, photograph by Jules Lister.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.