Smoke rose from the grills carrying the mouthwatering aroma of barbecued ribs over the hungry crowds at Riverside Park this past weekend during Ribfest Guelph 2017.
“The crowds have been great,” said Ribfest co-chair Dan O’Donnell. “It started with Thursday night’s show, which brought in more than 7,000 people for the ONtour 150.”
It was the second year in a row they added Thursday to the full weekend event and this time they had some help from the ONtour concert series celebrating Ontario’s 150th anniversary.
“Last year was the test,” said O’Donnell. “Once we figured out we could do it then we planned on doing it again as a special way to mark the 20 years and then the ONtour 150 people came to us wanting to use our facilities.”
The show featured a giant projection screen and a four-camera, multimedia light and laser show with performances by Ontario bands Ginger Ale and the Monowhales, The Beaches, Coleman Hell and Headstones.
A highlight of the show was when Headstones’ unpredictable front man Hugh Dillon got a hold of one of the video cameras and turned it on the audience revealing the size of the record-breaking crowd.
“They left the lighting behind for us to use all weekend,” said O’Donnell. “Typically we wouldn’t have all that lighting. It was spectacular.”
Thursday’s show set the stage for the rest of the weekend with three more days of food, music and celebration. Total attendance numbers have yet to be calculated but it appears to be the largest turnout in the festival’s 20-year history.
“Generally we average 30,000 to 35,000 over the whole weekend,” said Ribfest co-chair Dave Ryder. “If you add in the attendance Thursday night it has to be close to 40,000. In terms of attendance it probably would be a record.”
That is good news for Rotary Club Guelph – Trillium and their fund-raising efforts.
“I think the other thing to note is that, while it is a free event, we do collect donations from people coming in and the people of Guelph have been very generous,” said Ryder. “We don’t have the final numbers on that but we do expect that we had strong results this year.”
They sold more than 4,000 tickets for the 50/50 draw and the winner was Doug Robb of Guelph.
“I bought the ticket Thursday night,” said Robb Sunday afternoon when he was presented with a cheque for $4,026. “This is my first time at Ribfest but I am coming back next year for sure.”
Money from the draw and other fundraising activities help support local organizations such as Focus on Nature, Hospice Wellington and KidsAbility.
“Last year we provided $35,000 in community grants to 24 local community groups,” said Norm Greensmith president of Rotary Club Guelph - Trillium. “Our total contribution over 20 years has exceeded the $1 million mark. That is truly a milestone.”
Festival organizers made every effort to provide a family friendly atmosphere with games and a midway for the kids, a beer tent for the adults and a classic car show that featured nearly 300 exotic, modern and vintage models.
Festival sponsors took part in a rib-tasting contest and more than a thousand festival visitors submitted ballots for the People’s Choice Award.
Dominating the rib competition were Camp 31 that won for best sauce and best ribs and Boss Hogs that won for best chicken as well as the People’s Choice Award.
Winners in the Gregg Mitchell Memorial Classic Car Show included four entries from the Guelph area. They were Rick Fitchett and his 1981 Corvette T-Top, Richard MacArthur and his 1957 Chev Cameo, Ken Fatt and his 1938 Ford Business Coupe and Steve Karl and his 1969 Dodge Dart.
“We measure the event in terms of its fundraising but we also measure it in terms of providing just a great family spot for a summer picnic or summer party – whatever you want to call it,” said Ryder. “That’s the part that has no monetary value but immense community value.”
