The Gardens relied for the majority of their income on shows, festivals and galas, such as the annual shows of the Leeds Horticultural and Floral Society, and the Grand County Archery Fete, which was held for two years in the late 1840s. A June 1843 diary entry by Reuben Gaunt, a worsted spinner from Pudsey, reads "Went to the Zoological Gardens, Leeds, to a temperance festival, partook a good tea and after hearing the Trial of John Barleycorn, played various rural sports."
