Ribfest returns to Niagara Square
The Niagara Falls Ribfest is firing up the grills for its final year at Niagara Square.
The huge fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Niagara Falls Sunrise will spend one last weekend at the parking lot of the former mall before the hunt begins for a new home. The three-day smoke-fest starts Friday at noon and continues to 7 p.m. Sunday.
Ribfest co-chairwoman Nancy Tkachuk says there’s a list of about 20 possible destinations left over from a 2013 study, when the event was forced to move from its original home at Optimist Park because of development.
“When we moved to Niagara Square we did quite a bit of research at that point, so we’re going to be dusting that off,” she says. “We’re going to get through this weekend, take a breath, and get right at that.”
Now in its 14th year, the show is the Rotary Club’s biggest fundraiser of the calendar, pulling in more than $42,000 from 22,000 visitors last year. This year’s edition will once again offer six ‘ribbers,’ including returning favourites Billy Bones, Silver Bullet and Bone Daddy’s.
Among the performers will be Vinyl Flux, MadMen, 351 Cleveland and Jessica Wilson.
Despite concerns about moving from a park to a parking lot, Tkachuk says Niagara Square has been an ideal home for Ribfest for five years.
“Leaving Optimist (Park) was a bit of a heartbreak, because of the picnic type atmosphere, but being at Niagara Square on pavement, it really does make set up and take down a lot easier,” she says. “And when it rains, it dries, so you’re not in mud.
“There are big pluses to being in a parking lot. It may not look ideal, but it really is advantageous.”
Many visitors assumed last year was the final Ribfest at Niagara Square, since the mall closed the month before. But a deal for one more year at the site was made with property owners RioCan. Finding a new home is not as easy as easy as just moving to another park, says Tkachuk.
“It’s going to be tough,” she says. “You need parking, you need lighting, we need to adhere to sound bylaws … there’s a lot of factors to be considered. And let’s face it, these ribber rigs are big.”
Admission is free to the event, with donations to Rotary Club of Niagara Falls Sunrise accepted at the gate.
Money raised at Ribfest supports groups like Pathstone Mental Health, GNGH Foundation and Literacy Niagara.