The 2nd Annual Lenox Rhubarb Festival

Saturday, May 23, 2015

The Festival was held outside in Reading Park on a cool, sunny day.

This year’s draw was more than 750 visitors!

Rhubarb Celebration and Sale

Sweet and savory rhubarb delicacies, as well as fresh local rhubarb, rhubarb recipe booklets and rhubarb plants were available for purchase.

Participating Vendors:

For the Love of Pie/Madeleine’s (Pittsfield, MA) selling Rhubarb pies and muffins.

Scott Harrington (Lenox, MA) selling Rhubarb plants and information and advice.

Ventfort Hall (Lenox, MA) selling Rhubarb juice and soda.

Rhubarb Chili Contest

The second Rhubarb Chili Contest once again shone a spotlight on Lenox restaurant chefs. This year we had six contestants, and their creations demonstrated ways to include rhubarb in delicious savory cooking. Rhubarb, with its tart and tangy flavor, makes a great addition to soups, chilis, stews and other dishes.

Visitors bought a spoon for $5, got a taste of all the entries, and then used their spoon to vote for their favorite chili.

This year’s contestants were:

Café Lucia,

Cranwell Spa & Resort,

Firefly Gastropub,

Olde Heritage Tavern, and

Trattoria Il Vesuvio.

And the winner was Trattoria Il Vesuvio!