May 19, 2025
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Reveling in rhubarb: Kankakee’s Rhubarb Fest celebrates 35 years

By Tiffany Blanchette
Kankakee County Museum volunteer Jack Shelling, 17, center, of Bourbonnais, helps sell slices of rhubarb and strawberry-rhubarb pie alongside fellow volunteers during the 35th annual Rhubarb Festival on Sunday, May 18, 2025.

Kankakee County Museum volunteer Jack Shelling, 17, center, of Bourbonnais, helps sell slices of rhubarb and strawberry-rhubarb pie alongside fellow volunteers during the 35th annual Rhubarb Festival on Sunday, May 18, 2025. (Tiffany Blanchette)

The grounds of the Kankakee County Museum were bustling with residents on Sunday seeking a springtime taste of rhubarb.

Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Rhubarb Festival brings rhubarb-inspired pies and jams to the table each year as part of the museum’s annual fundraiser.

Dozens of vendors, live entertainment, tours, a dime toss, a kids’ zone and a pie-eating contest help round out the festival’s activities.

The staple event takes place each year at Kankakee’s Small Memorial Park, which hosts the historical home of Dr. Abram Small, who began a rhubarb growing operation after purchasing land in 1855.

Small was an early pioneer and settled the land west of Kankakee. He was a physician by trade, but his real passion was horticulture, according to the Kankakee County Museum.

Thanks to the annual festival, Kankakeeans and nearby neighbors delight in a celebration of the red-stalked vegetable 170 years later.