The 24th Sarnia Kinsmen Ribfest was soggy after an overnight’s rain but crews were busy Friday morning drying off, lighting grills and spreading wood chips to be ready to welcome crowds to the three-day Father’s Day weekend fundraiser in Centennial Park.
“We’ll be ready to go, maybe not on time, but we’ll be ready to go,” said Jack Struck with the Kinsmen.
Ribfest was set to open just before noon Friday and run to midnight, 11:30 am to midnight Saturday and noon to 7 pm Sunday with five “ribbers,” 10 other food vendors, about 30 arts and craft sellers, four local craft brewers, Alton Farms Estate Winery and plenty of live music.
“It’s kind of a mud hole but we’re going to get through it,” Struck said.
“We’ve been here before so we know what to do.”
He said there will also be activities for children Saturday and Sunday with about eight inflatables expected to be onsite.
Other than the overnight rain, “the weather looks good,” Struck said.
A crowd of more than 25,000 attended last year’s ribfest which was a significant increase over previous years.
“It would be nice to see that many this year,” Struck said.
New this year is a $5 entry fee.
That came after a drop in donations at the door during last year’s event.
“Charities lost out,” Struck said about the impact of fewer donations by Ribfest attendees.
“We didn’t make that much money.”
But, the service club still managed to help local agencies through the year, including contributing more than $20,000 to a local food bank, Struck said.
“We recognize that there is a need,” he said. “That’s what our goal is, to fill the need.”
There will also be 50-50 draw tickets on sale during Ribfest.
There are nine bands scheduled to perform on a stage set up in the park.
Struck said the bands are all local musicians, although the Shelly Rastin Band is from a little bit down the road in Strathroy.
Bands include The Gypsy Flats, Big Shiny Toons, Johnny Five, Chain Reaction, Rhythm Junkies and others.
“We’ve got some good music coming in,” Struck said.
Ribbers this year are Jack The Ribber, Smokehouse Bandits, Silver Bullet Bar-BQ, Route 55 BBQ, Bubba Lou’s Bar-BQ.