Save Saturday May 30, 2026 (10 am – 1 pm) for our 17th Rhubarb Festival. A sweet event that celebrates spring and community. Rhubarb is the “main event”, but this unique fundraiser includes a plant sale, book sale, “bling” (or gently used adornments) sale, a café, music, and children’s activities AND we share the proceeds with our wider community.
Every year we make rhubarb pies together in four 2-hour pie bees and then sell them to the public. If you have been waiting for a moment to join an activity at CVUUS, this is the one! Rolling dough and chopping strawberries is a great way to get to know people and make new friends.
Want to help? We need bakers, book sorters, seedling starters, merchandizers, ice cream scoopers, box makers…. Please join the organizing team or sign up to help in large and small ways: SIGNUP HERE. Jump in! No experience necessary.
Contact: Lise Anderson or Mary Hadley.
We accept cash, check or credit card. As we sell out fast on some items, we encourage people to come early.
2026 Rhubarb Festival
This year features lots of pies and savories, as always, on the main level, expanded offerings at our Bling and Sweets and Savories stations also on the main level, a Garden Patch tent outside (or inside if raining), and a cafe, used book sale and children’s activities on our lower level.
GOT RHUBARB? It’s rhubarb harvest time for some of you, and it’s not too early to begin collecting for the festival! If you have a rhubarb patch you have some options: 1) If you don’t want to harvest it yourself, you can contact Abi Sessions and she will organize a crew (of one or more) to come collect the rhubarb from your garden.2) If you want to harvest yourself (being careful to pull, not cut stalks as shown here), you can: a) Cut off the leaves, wash the stalks and bring them whole to CVUUS, where they will go into the refrigerator.b) Chop the stalks into 1/2-inch pieces and put them into quart ziploc bags and deliver to CVUUS, where they will be put into the refrigerator or freezer. Helpful to measure into 4 cups per bag. You can help chop at CVUUS as your schedule permits on Thurs May 28 or Fri May 29 after 2 pm and at the pie bees. There’s no such thing as too much rhubarb! If we have more than we need for pies we can sell it raw as the delicious fruit (actually vegetable) that it is! Any questions? Reach out to Abi
BAKE PIES? We made over 165 pies and offered rhubarb ($20) and rhubarb/strawberry ($25) and small ($15) pies last year and hope for the same again. Some gluten free, vegan. Pie making events will be held May 28 and May 29 (3-7 pm). This is a great opportunity to learn how to make pies. SIGN UP HERE or see Lise Anderson. You could also sign up to make pies at home and bring them to us or to take pies that we make at the bees to bake at home and bring back. We can provide supplies (rhubarb, pie tins, boxes).
Conquer your fear of pie crust! Karen Cooper & Jean Terwilliger will host a workshop to teach you some tips and techniques for achieving the “picture perfect” flaky pastry crust. Come Tue May 12, 6 pm to lower level kitchen. Both traditional and vegan options will be offered. Space limited, so please contact Jean or Karen if interested.
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RHUBARB CAFE We’ll be serving rhubarb crisp and poached rhubarb with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream along with assorted non-alcoholic beverages downstairs ($5/serving). Bake crisp? Be a server? Contact Mike Greenwood
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GOT SWEETS & SAVORIES? Every year the sweets and savories are incredibly popular, both the jarred items – jam, chutney, mustard – and the finger foods – scones, muffins, brownies, bars, cupcakes. We also sell small crisps, cakes and quick breads and pie slices. Most items have rhubarb in them, but we’ve been known to have non-rhubarb items as well. If you’ll be able to provide a goodie for the table, let Mary Conlon know. You can sign up here to bring something or help sell items. If you’d like to be reimbursed for supplies, by all means reach out to Lise Anderson, Mary Hadley or Mary Conlon. Anyone who wants to bake shouldn’t be limited by an inability to buy supplies. We’ll have containers and wraps for those who want to take goodies to go. We’ll offer our CuuK BuuK of favorite rhubarb recipes ($5).
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GOT BLING? Donate gently used jewelry, scarves, ties and other accessories for sale. Look for the bling collection basket in the sanctuary. We welcome small home decor items as well. Don’t Poshmark it! Let’s keep the joy in Middlebury! Contact Susie Patterson, Laura Asermily or Jake Loven.
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| GOT INDOOR HOUSEPLANTS, SEEDLINGS OR SEEDS? The plant table will offer houseplants and seedlings again. Jumping worms are still a problem in Addison County, and we don’t want to spread their destructive effect. So please bring houseplants and or seedlings (in seed-starter soil) you’d like to contribute to the sale. Garden accessories are also welcome and bring seeds for the seed swap. While not a native plant in our region – rhubarb originated in Siberia – Pollinator Pathway of Addison County is delighted to again be part of the annual Rhubarb Festival. Their table will offer info on managing jumping worms, mosquitoes and invasives. People can pick up seeds of native plants, browse books on native plant gardening and get a link to local sources of native plants. Contact Dinah Smith. |
| GOT BOOKS? Once again, as part of the Rhubarb Festival, CVUUS will host a book sale. Bring them to the lower level of CVUUS either Sunday May 24th after worship or Thursday May 28th after 3 pm. Join us for book sorting Tuesday, 26 of May at 1pm and/or Thursday 28 of May at 1pm or FR May 29, between 1 – 5 PM. The work involves sitting or standing and making piles of books by kid/adult, fiction/non, and then within non-fiction categories based on an excellent map designed by Artley Wolfson. If you love books, this is so fun! SIGN UP HERE.
See book sale plan here. |
PROVIDE SWEET MUSIC Let Carol Harden know if you’d like to perform for a segment of 30-60 minutes. We hope for fiddling, pan steel drumming, high school groups and more. Listen for rhubarb themes and fiddle tunes.
HELP WITH CHILDREN’S ACTVITIES Check in with Julia re@cvuus.org for what she is considering for this year and how you can help. Could be a blend of inside and outside activities.
Take Care of Your Rhubarb Patch!
Water regularly, aiming for a consistent moisture level in the soil. Avoid overwatering or letting the soil dry out completely. Applying a layer of organic mulch around the base of the plants helps retain moisture, suppresses weed growth, and regulates soil temperature. Used coffee grounds are a great fertilizer. While spring and fall are the best time to move plants, it’s so hardy you can do it any time. See more here. You can harvest up to one-third of the rhubarb stalks from a plant at a time. It’s best to harvest by pulling and twisting the stalks at the base, rather than cutting them. Chop stalks and freeze for ready use.
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