Rhubarb festival pulls crowds for anniversary celebration

The first anniversary of Yorkshire’s rhubarb joining the ranks of Europe’s protected foods offered an apt occasion for the two-day Wakefield Festival of Food, Drink and Rhubarb which ran until Saturday.

Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb was awarded the same legal protection as French Champagne and Italian Parma ham when it was awarded Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status by the European Union last year.

Wakefield is part of the Wakefield-Leeds-Morley rhubarb-growing triangle and the plant has been an important part of the local economy for over 150 years.

A spokesman for Wakefield Council said: “Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb is a protected name so it has to come from within the rhubarb triangle to be Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb.

“There were 200 farms and now there are 12 commercial growers left so it helps to secure an industry that is part of our heritage.”

Visitors to the festival, which was organised by Wakefield Council, were treated to a medley of street entertainment, cookery demonstrations, walks, tours and a Deliciously Yorkshire market as well as visits to the rhubarb growers.