Preparations Underway for this Year’s Rhubarb Festival

SAGINAW, Minn. — Even though it’s still two weeks away, preparations are already in place for this year’s Rhubarb Festival.

For the last two years, incarcerated people at the Northeastern Regional Correctional Center prepare and bake the rhubarb pies that are sold at CHUM’s Rhubarb Festival. Last year they made and sold upward of 1,000 rhubarb pies at the festival. Incarcerated people have been spending the week making crust and cleaning and storing the rhubarb so far. And this is their second year helping out with the festival.

“When they reached out two years ago, it was at first a little skepticism,” said Nicholas Ledin, the cook counselor. “I mean to have someone to come and approach you and say that we need 2,000 pie crusts and 1,000 pies and you have two weeks to do them – it’s daunting. We have the facility to do it, we have the incarcerated people to teach to do it. It’s something that we wanted to do and what we felt would be a good learning tool for the guys here.”

But inmates at the correctional facility say that volunteering in the kitchen is a good way to help them get back on their feet.

“For me in my recovery, volunteer work is essential,” said Matt Mercer, a current inmate and volunteer. “I really would love to go and volunteer via at the CHUM, loads of fishes- I would love to work at the Damiano Center a couple times for one of their meals. This place has put me into culinary school this last January, so I would love to give back in that manner.”

The Rhubarb Festival is one of the biggest fundraisers for CHUM. For every pie at the event sold is a free night of shelter provided to someone experiencing homelessness in Duluth. The Rhubarb Festival kicks off June 29.