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YEAR IN REVIEW: New-look Ribfest comes to downtown Penticton

'We’re thrilled to keep it alive with a new festival that’s perfect for adults, kids, and the whole family': Event organizer

When the Rotary Club of Penticton said in January 2024 that it was pulling the plug on hosting Ribfest, the future of the event looked unclear.

But with new organizers and a fresh set of ideas, the annual summertime festival would eventually return to make its presence felt in the city's downtown core.

The inaugural SummerCamp Rib & Music Festival in Penticton, organized by Vancouver-based The Festival Company and The Narrow Group, ran inside Okanagan Lake Park from Sept. 13 to 15.

“I know how much Ribfest meant to the area,” said Keremeos native Billie Jo Aasen of The Festival Company. “We’re thrilled to keep it alive with a new festival that’s perfect for adults, kids, and the whole family."

Citing a lack of volunteers and increasing costs to host events, the Rotary Club of Penticton made the "tough decision" of backing out of organizing duties for 2024.

The local club helped put on the festival for nine years, most recently at Skaha Lake Park in 2023.

“It was one of those things where our numbers have been declining since COVID and the volunteers who have the extra time and skill levels needed are stretched out," said Harpreet Sidhu, former chair of Ribfest.

The new-look Ribfest event featured barbecue food, games like "tug of war" and cornhole, and a full slate of live music. Penticton's Smoke Dem Bone was among the five ribbers from across Canada to feed the thousands of festival attendees.

Performers on the main stage at Okanagan Lake Park over the weekend included local favourites Jack & Jill, Dane Bateman and Mark Ledlin, who was recently named to Sirius XM's "Top 10 Country to Watch" list.

"It's always a good time," said Jamie, one of the ribbers of London, Ontario's Boss Hog's BBQ, as he was joined by ribbers from Port Dover, Ont., Victoria, Regina, and Penticton. "We're all having fun up here, and those good times are infectious."

The first-ever SummerCamp Rib & Music Festival in Penticton came as the city hosted a multitude of other September events, including the Young Stars Classic, Vancouver Canucks training camp, Canadian Outrigger Distance Championships and Okanagan Vinyl Festival.



Logan Lockhart

About the Author: Logan Lockhart

I joined Black Press Media in 2021 after graduating from a pair of Toronto post-secondary institutions and working as a sports reporter for several different outlets.
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