‘It’s a shame’: Ribfest fans, vendors lament the loss of a summer tradition

At the height of its popularity in Naperville, Ribfest had overflow crowds, full-blown concerts and no equal during the suburban festival season.

The biggest Fourth of July bash around, Ribfest was as much about legit, competitive barbecue as the genre-spanning, main-stage entertainment. Pitbull, Blondie, The Psychedelic Furs, REO Speedwagon and Hootie and the Blowfish all performed for the Ribfest throngs.

The past success of the festival made it all the more of a shock when organizers announced it would be no more after a two-year stint in Wheaton.

“It’s a shame to see that it came apart the way that it did. It really is,” said Jay Rushford, director of operations for Uncle Bub’s BBQ, a Westmont restaurant that racked up Ribfest trophies in Naperville.

Renovations to Knoch Park forced the Exchange Club of Naperville, the service organization behind Ribfest, to find another venue after 30-plus years in the city. The pandemic derailed what was supposed to be the first Ribfest in Romeoville.

For longtime Ribfest fans, a slimmed-down version at the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton – first held over Father’s Day weekend and then last year in September – didn’t look or feel like the festival of old.

It “was a nice venue, but it was also, at that point, no longer tied to the Fourth of July. So I don’t even know necessarily if it resonated with people as being the same event,” Rushford said.

A ‘huge loss’

An Exchange Club leader late last month confirmed not only the end of Ribfest but that the group itself is disbanding. The costs of the event post-COVID, organizers wrote in a statement then, “were very high and we were not able to generate enough income to be profitable.” The Exchange Club Charitable Organization recently filed for bankruptcy.

The group’s folding at one time would have been unthinkable.

Forming in 1987, the Exchange Club and its main event would help define Naperville’s spirit of volunteerism. More than 3,800 people signed up early for Ribfest duty in 2008 and showed up over the four days.

“It’s a huge loss to our community,” Naperville City Council member Jennifer Bruzan Taylor said. “The Exchange Club has done so much over the years. … It’s a sad state when we’re having volunteer organizations close their doors.”

In the past 35 years, the Exchange Club of Naperville raised more than $22 million – largely because of Ribfest’s success – for the prevention of child abuse and domestic violence, according to organizers. The club gave to more than 75 local agencies.

Little Friends, which provides services for people with autism or developmental disabilities, was one of the nonprofit organizations that received support from Ribfest. However, it was not one of the primary beneficiaries.

“Several years ago, prior to COVID, I would say we would have noticed it,” Little Friends president and CEO Mike Briggs said. “But when things changed and COVID changed … we evolved and moved into working on different ways, trying to find money to support the programs that we operate.”

Naperville Mayor Scott Wehrli said the Exchange Club was “very active in the community” and also sponsored the city’s 9/11 memorial service each year. One of his campaign slogans, “Team Naperville,” sought to bring awareness to the importance of volunteerism.

“We’re all neighbors and we’re all working together to keep Naperville one of the greatest cities in the world,” he said. “We have to continue to reinforce the importance of that in our community.”

Naperville Responds for Veterans will help stage the 9/11 remembrance.

“To be asked to be involved with it is an honor and it goes with our mission of what we do,” said Patrick Rubald, a member of the Naperville Responds for Veterans board. “It’s part of the culture of Naperville and we don’t want to see it go away.”

Of the Exchange Club, he said: “They’ve done so much good for so long and raised so much money and have been part of the fabric of Naperville. It’s sad to see it go.”

A bittersweet end

When Ribfest was in “full throttle,” Briggs, who grew up in Naperville, would go every night. Traveling rib vendors came from as far as Florida, Kentucky, Ohio and Virginia to serve barbecue hounds at Ribfest. Uncle Bub’s had to be “ready months ahead of time.”

“We learned early on, in the early years, that if you don’t prepare way ahead of time, then you’re going to be running behind for just impossibly huge crowds,” Rushford said.

Ribfest judges swore an oath to defend “truth, justice, excellence in barbecue and the American way of life.” In the final two years in Naperville, Uncle Bub’s won the trifecta: best sauce, best ribs and kids’ choice. The restaurant still displays its Ribfest awards.

“It was a time that I’m always going to remember fondly,” Rushford said, “so I do understand that it’s come to its end and that is a sad thing. But the memories that it made, really, the reputation that it had, lives on forever.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240809/news/its-a-shame-ribfest-fans-vendors-lament-the-loss-of-a-summer-tradition/