Victoria Park is about to become one of the busiest spots in Cobourg as Northumberland Ribfest gets ready to fire up for three days of food, music, family entertainment and community spirit.
The annual event begins Friday at 4 p.m. and continues through Sunday, with organizers already deep into the massive undertaking of transforming the park into Ribfest headquarters.
Lynn Hardy, Chair of Northumberland Ribfest, says the event is the result of months of planning — and hundreds of people working behind the scenes.
“It’s great,” Hardy said Thursday as preparations continued. “The thing about Ribfest or any event that’s down here, or virtually anywhere in Cobourg, it takes so many people to put it all together.”
Crews have been working at the park since Sunday night and Monday morning, with some workers staying late into Wednesday night waiting for equipment and supplies to arrive.
“There are so many moving parts and you couldn’t do it without about 400 people,” Hardy said.
This year, organizers are putting an even greater emphasis on making Ribfest a family event, with the introduction of a large Kids Zone.
Hardy said the idea came from watching families arrive with young children, including many children in strollers, while there was traditionally limited entertainment specifically for them.
“We want this to be a family event,” she said.
The Kids Zone will feature a large activity area with portions in both the shade and sun. Theresa and Heather from All Creatures Great and Small along with Spark Toys, along with Rotarian Nicole Beatty, have been working on activities for children.
And there is no charge.
“It’s all free,” Hardy said.
Ontario Power Generation is sponsoring the Kids Zone and will also be on site providing information and activities for young people.
Among the attractions will be oversized soccer balls and a large area dedicated to children’s activities.
But the Kids Zone is only one part of a weekend packed with entertainment.
Hardy said Friday night will feature the Real Woman Review, with music in the style of Aretha Franklin and other soul legends.
Saturday afternoon will include a special salute to The Tragically Hip.
This weekend marks 10 years since Ribfest hosted a simulcast of The Tragically Hip’s iconic final concert.
“For those who were here 10 years ago, it was an outstanding evening,” Hardy said.
The Saturday tribute will feature music celebrating the Canadian band and will give those who attended the 2016 event an opportunity to revisit a memorable night in Victoria Park.
Hardy believes Ribfest’s success comes down to its location and its accessibility.
“I think it’s because it’s downtown,” she said. “It’s accessible and it’s for everybody.”
Visitors can spend the entire day in the park, listening to music, eating, visiting vendors and enjoying the waterfront setting.
“You can sit here all day if you want,” Hardy said. “And could there be a more beautiful spot?”
She pointed to the trees, shade and location of Victoria Park as major reasons the event continues to draw crowds.
“We are so fortunate to be able to use Victoria Park,” Hardy said. “It’s just the most beautiful place with all these trees and all the shade. It’s amazing.”
MILLER WASTE HELPING RIBFEST GO GREEN
While Ribfest is about food and entertainment, organizers are also taking a serious look at what happens to all the waste generated by a three-day festival.
Miller Waste is one of the event’s major sponsors and is working with the Cobourg Rotary Club to significantly increase the amount of waste diverted from landfill.
Daryl Stogryn, a Rotarian and Chair of the Cobourg Rotary Environmental Committee, said the initiative began with a simple concern about organic waste.
“One of the things that we’ve learned over the years is that organic waste, so compostable things, food scraps, all that sort of stuff, when it gets into the landfill is probably the largest contributor to methane gas that comes out of a landfill,” Stogryn said.
The goal is to separate as much organic and recyclable material as possible before it reaches the landfill.
Stogryn said he approached the District Manager for Miller Waste in the area, about the possibility of helping.
The program was expanded beyond food waste to include recyclable materials as well.
Miller Waste agreed to become a community partner, taking care of the trucking and tipping fees associated with the waste.
“They’ve been fantastic to work with,” Stogryn said.
Organizers are hoping to divert approximately 75 per cent of the waste generated during Ribfest away from landfill and instead send it to appropriate composting or recycling facilities.
The program is also receiving hands-on support from Miller Waste employees, some of whom are volunteering at the event.
The environmental effort is expected to save Rotary thousands of dollars in trucking and tipping fees while also reducing the festival’s environmental footprint.
“This is going to save us thousands of dollars in trucking fees and tipping fees and we will be more environmentally friendly on top of that,” Stogryn said.
For Hardy, Stogryn and the hundreds of volunteers involved, that combination of community, entertainment and giving back is what Ribfest is all about.
And by Thursday afternoon, the transformation of Victoria Park was well underway.
More vendors were arriving, equipment was moving in and another few hundred people were expected Friday to finish the setup.
By Friday at 4 p.m., the waiting will be over.
Northumberland Ribfest will officially be underway.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
