If you’re looking for food and fun in the sun this upcoming long weekend, head down to Spencer Smith Park for Canada’s Largest Ribfest, run by the Burlington Lakeshore Rotary Club, from Friday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. until Monday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. Proceeds from the festival are donated to a long list of charities each year.
This year, be prepared with a debit or credit card (or tap) to make your purchases, as Ribfest has gone cashless. There is also a $2 per person entry fee, in support of the charities that the Burlington Lakeshore Rotarians donate the proceeds to; last year, the list of charities that benefitted from Ribfest included the Compassion Society, Lighthouse Centre for Grieving Children, North BurLINKton Community Group, Joseph Brant Hospital, the Burlington Food Bank, Burlington Counselling & Family Services, and many others.
Rotary Burlington Lakeshore has been organizing Ribfest for over 25 years, and it has grown to include up to 18 ribbers each year (in case you’re not down with the lingo, ribbers are the people who cook the ribs, often with their own top-secret rub for the meat). This year’s lineup includes Fat Boys BBQ from London, Ont., the Brantford-based Uncle Sam’s Smoke House, Camp 31 BBQ (now in Paris, Ont., but with Alabama roots), and Pistol Pete’s Smokehouse, established back in 1982 in Oklahoma City, alongside a dozen others.
But it’s not just ribs. Many ribbers also cook up chicken, pulled pork and sides, and there will be other vendors offering ice cream, donuts, kettle corn, roasted corn, and lemonade amongst them.
Then there’s the entertainment: music, midway rides, and games, complete with an 80s theme for the Friday kick-off. Featured bands for Friday’s “80s Night” include Neon Nostalgic, Chalk Circle, and Fiddlestix; a host of other musicians will play throughout the long weekend.
Pre-pandemic, way back in 2016, there was a record-setting number of attendees: more than 183,000. It’s always a popular event, but if waiting in line for your grub doesn’t appeal, you can buy Leggat Discovery Ford VIP tickets that let you bypass the lines and give you access to the VIP bar and tables. For adults, the VIP tickets cost $40 for an evening or $25 for an afternoon (children’s tickets cost $10 regardless of time).
But not only is Canada’s Largest Ribfest a community charity event where you can eat your body weight in ribs if you so desire, it is also a competition. Participating ribbers will be judged for the chance to win the title of Best Ribs, Best Sauce, or Best Chicken. If you browse the list of ribbers who will be at this year’s Ribfest, click through to their social media accounts or websites, and you’ll find many, if not all, will note that they are “award-winning” — and it’s not just from Canada’s Largest Ribfest. Ribbers may travel across Ontario or even further afield to compete in barbeque competitions, and prizes can range from bragging rights to big money.
Down south, they take their barbeque seriously: there’s the World Championship Barbeque Cooking Contest in Memphis, Tennessee, with a total prize pot of $145,000 to distribute amongst the winning teams in various categories (the 2023 grand champions won $25,000); the 2021 grand champions of the invitational competition at the American Royal World Series of Barbeque took home $12,000 for their trouble.
In Canada, it seems to be more about fun and bragging rights, but competition is part of Ribfest culture all the same. For instance, Bone Daddy’s BBQ won first place for their ribs and sauce in Whitby and Cold Lake earlier this summer, while Sticky Fingers BBQ & Company just won the People’s Choice category in Aurora; both of these ribbers will be in Burlington this weekend.
Just look up at the giant displays for each ribber’s booth, you’re sure to find their various accolades displayed there. It may not help you to choose between the ribbers this weekend — but you can always try more than one!
