A Successful Event Despite Rains
Well, another Orangeville Ribfest has come to an end. Friday night and Sunday were beautiful but we did have some soggy weather on Saturday, especially after 9 p.m.! Despite the rain though, our wonderful volunteer team—over 160 strong this year—kept Ribfest going smoothly, doing everything from greeting patrons, serving beer, pop and water, and, with help from the Orangeville Headwaters Minor Baseball Association and Dufferin Waste Services, cleaning tables and managing the waste & recycling stations. The Rotary Club of Orangeville would like to extend a huge thank-you to each and every volunteer who helped us out this year. We simply could not put on an event like Ribfest without your help.
Our rib-judging contest took place on Saturday afternoon when our six judges sampled ribs and sauce from each of our wonderful ribbers. Because of the Saturday weather, the Ribfest Classic Auto Show was much smaller than usual, and the Camp Fire Poets finished their last set about 20 minutes early. But on Sunday, the weather was back in our favour and the performers on the big stage and Kidsfest brought in over 8,000 happy patrons! In fact, over the entire weekend, attendance was over 22,000! We won’t know for a few weeks what the final number will be for funds raised but, as in previous years, all funds will go towards projects in the Orangeville/Dufferin community, including some funds being put aside for the redevelopment of Rotary Park.
Our winning ribbers this year were:
- Judges’ Choice Best Ribs – Brickyard BBQ
- Judges’ Choice Best Sauce – Silver Bullet
- People’s Choice Award – Billy Bones
One last note: after closing on Sunday, all left over pop and water was donated to the Choices Youth Shelter.
Thank-you to our many volunteers, our fabulous bands and performers, our sponsors, our ribbers and all the Ribfest vendors, and to you, the citizens of Orangeville, Dufferin County and beyond, for helping to make the 14th annual Rotary Ribfest such a success. See you in 2024 ,July 19, 20 and 21 , save the date!
Rotary Club of Orangeville