It’s not long now until the premiere event of the summer comes our way: Waterdown’s Oh Canada Ribfest is on tap once again for the Canada Day long weekend.
“This is a huge festival, one of the biggest in our area, and it’s a joint undertaking of the Rotary Club of Flamborough AM and the Rotary Club of Waterdown,” explained Ribfest steering committee co- chair Nick Brown.
Ribfest is primarily known for great food trucks, excellent ribbers, quality beverage choices, outstanding musical acts, and lots of fun activities for kids and families. This year, says Brown, there are some changes and some additions, to make this already outstanding event even better.
“We have added a couple of new food truck choices,” explained Brown. “There is going to be Korean food, for example, and of course, options for vegans and vegetarians, and a halal option as well. We want to be able to cater to everyone in our community with our food options. Of course, we have outstanding ribbers here all weekend long, too.”
Beverages this year will be supplied by Labatt’s, a change from previous years, which will mean a whole new list of beverage options. “So, we will have Stella, Corona, Mill Street, Bud, Bud Light. And our craft beer supplier will continue to be Nickel Brook,” said Brown.
Wine will also be available in the beverage tent, and local favourite West Avenue Cider will be serving up their signature ciders.
Families can expect the same format and activities that have become a Canada Day weekend tradition in Waterdown. Magical Midway will be in the park with carnival rides and games, and Skate Jam is running on Sunday, June 30. Fantastic vendors and local community groups will also be in the park for the four-day event.
Ribfest is also the largest local outdoor music festival in town, and this year’s headliners are excited to play for fans in the park. The 905 Band closes out Friday night, while perennial favourites Freedom Train are the Saturday night headliners and Fiddlestix is featured on Sunday.
“For Monday night, we decided to go with a Coldplay tribute band, called X&Y. They are supposed to be fantastic, and we figured that Coldplay would have mass appeal,” Brown said. “We are excited to have that change this year, to keep things interesting.”
Guests will also have some hairy fun with a unique contest on the Saturday afternoon of the festival. Brand new this year is the Best Mullet Contest, which will also include categories such as Best Sideburns, Best Mustache and Best Big ‘80s Hair.
“We’ve decided to go ahead with a Best Mullet contest this year, and have local hairdressers and barbers be the guest judges,” said Brown. “This should bring out a lot of new people and add an interesting vibe, at the very least, to the weekend!”
Brown explained that the organizing committee works hard to keep everything the community loves about the event, and find new ways to make it fun.
“We really do want to have the best festival around. We want to keep bettering and expanding it, keep it fresh, and make it the best weekend of the summer. We hope to see everyone out there this Canada Day weekend!”
Admission to Waterdown’s Oh Canada Ribfest will be free again for 2024. As the biggest fundraiser of the year for the local Rotary clubs, volunteers will be collecting donations at the gates and in the park, with all money raised going right back into community projects.
Ribfest 2024 runs from Friday, June 28 to Monday July 1, at Memorial Park. For lots more information and a full schedule of events, click here.