A Weekend of Perfect Weather and Wonderful Ribbers
Thank-you Orangeville for making the 15th annual Orangeville Rotary Ribfest such a success! Luckily, we had a weekend of near-perfect weather!
Our wonderful volunteer team—over 200 strong this year—kept Ribfest going smoothly, doing everything from setting up, 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. And the Ribfest Classic Auto Show was well-attended with 100 cars participating, including a McLaren. On Sunday, thousands of happy kids and their families attended Kidsfest. On Saturday and Sunday, the rock-climbing wall—a new addition to Ribfest—was open and attracted a few hundred brave souls! And, of course, live music was continuous on the big stage.
Over the entire weekend, attendance was 22,655! 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. This year, most of the funds will go to the Town for their reconstruction of Rotary Park project.
Our winning ribbers this year were:
- Judges’ Choice Best Ribs – Gator BBQ
- Judges’ Choice Best Sauce – Jack the Ribber
- People’s Choice Award – Fat Boys BBQ
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 15th annual Rotary Ribfest such a success. See you in 2025—July 18, 19 and 20—save the dates!
Submitted by Ingrid Sproxton
Rotary Club of Orangeville