Right in Our Region
Tasty BBQ & Live Music at 25th RibFest By Peggy Werner
T
he 25th annual BBQ RibFest is four days of food, fun and music, featuring mouth-watering BBQ served up by awardwinning grill teams from across the country. This year’s event will take place 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Thursday-Sunday, June 16-19, at Headwaters Park in downtown Fort Wayne. Co-producer Mark Chappuis says the family friendly event is one of Fort Wayne’s most popular summer festivals and people from all over the tri-state area look forward to it each year. “As many as 40,000 BBQ lovers descend on downtown Fort Wayne to devour more than 25 tons of incredible BBQ,” he says. “RibFest, however, is not just about the ribs. It includes most anything BBQ like scrumptious pulled pork, sausage, slow smoked brisket, chicken, turkey legs, rib sandwiches, barbequed mushrooms and more.”
In addition to BBQ, RibFest offers favorite foods like macaroni and cheese, elephant ears, fried veggies, ice cream, lemonade shakeups and more. Musical entertainment and a large bar will be located in a covered pavilion in the festival plaza. “It’s a packed pig-out party with lots of smiles and great smells,” says Chappuis. “The formula is simple, provide great BBQ and they will come. What we do hasn’t changed much through the years because we put great BBQ on the table and amazing music onstage, all at a very affordable price, and people are happy campers! People just love getting together. What’s more fun than an outdoor BBQ with family and friends? It really doesn’t get much better than that.” The event is always held during Father’s Day weekend and Chappuis says th people thank him every year Bring your appetite to the 25 Annual RibFest June 16-19 in Fort Wayne. Pictured clockwise from left: Pulled Pork Meal, Ultimate Nachos and Ultimate Meal Atop Smoked Macaroni, from McHyser BBQ, one of many businesses that will profor having a great way to celvide 25 tons of barbecue at this year’s event. ebrate the day with Dad. In 16
Smart Living Fort Wayne
June 2022 • I
To Advertise Call 260-212-8968
