Even if you had never known RibFest was happening over the weekend, it would have been impossible not to notice the thick plumes of smoke from the roaring barbecues carrying the mouth-watering aromas of sauces, ribs, pulled pork and so much more.
The Voyager Inn was the centre of car-filled streets parked around the neighbourhoods, live musical performances from local artists, vendors of local businesses, kids’ activities—like a rock-climbing tower, bouncy castles and zip line—and of course, the undeniable attraction of the professional grillers, such as Fat Albert, Jack the Ribber, Route 55 and Railroad Ribs.
This was the fourth year organizers, Tom and his brother Geoff Richardson, Sarah Jane Valiquette, and Tracy Sloan spearheaded the annual festival and it’s never been an easy task they said.
However, this year happened to have a particularly wet weekend but ended with a beautiful sunny Sunday.
Geoff said although he would have thought the rain was going to put a damper on the festival, he said people still came out for the succulent food and annual experience.
“This festival I think has a certain spirit to it which is unique. We’ve grown every year.” Geoff said, saying the city, businesses and the community have been welcoming.
“Five years ago, if you said all these people would be in the back parking lot of the Voyager, you wouldn’t see that but now it’s very different. We focused on making it accessible to families.”
Looking back over the years, Geoff recalled how it all started with a vision.
“My brother and I stood up on that roof right there, looked down and we saw something,” he said. “We didn’t know what it was, but we saw some way of getting people involved with the Voyager again. The whole idea was to get the community to come back and we happen to love ribs!”
The festival also raises funds for Community Living North Bay—which had received about $5,000 from last year’s event.
Community Living provides a range of programs and services for people with intellectual disabilities and their families.
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