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Expanding: RibFest moves to new, roomier digs at fairgrounds; folks say it's better
Journal Photo by Lauren Carroll
Jackson of Smokin Joe's Ribs prepares a few racks of ribs during the Twin City RibFest Saturday, June 13, 2009. Smokin Joe's is based out of Columbus, Ohio and has the following slogan: "We serve no swine before its time."
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Published: June 14, 2009
Last year, Barry and Susan Stewart missed out on the Texas Pete Twin City RibFest, only hearing about it after the fact.
This year, they almost missed out again, but while eating out, they overheard another couple talking about the festival at a table beside them.
"I like it," Barry Stewart said as he chowed down on ribs from Sgt. Oink's BBQ Co. from Tiffin, Ohio, one of 11 rib vendors who were competing at this year's festival. They were his favorite ribs, "at least so far," he said, but he planned to try out other vendors just to be sure.
The Twin City RibFest began Thursday at the Dixie Classic Fairgrounds and wraps up today from noon to 7 p.m.
Rib lovers can buy a full meal at any one of the vendors, but most booths also offer samplers at prices averaging $4-$8 for two to four ribs. Andrae Butler and Mable Gartrell snacked on ribs from Pigfoot, of West Salem, Ohio, while waiting in line to buy more ribs, from Carolina Rib King, of Moore, S.C.
This was Butler's second time at the RibFest, having attended in 2008, and he liked the new location. "It's better, there's more space," he said.
This is the festival's fifth year. The first four years, RibFest was held in the parking lot of First Presbyterian Church on Cherry Street in downtown, but it outgrew that location.
Last year, Allen McDavid, the festival's producer, went looking for a new venue. He considered the new baseball stadium in downtown Winston-Salem that was supposed to be ready by now, but decided against it. "Thank God that didn't work out," he said.
McDavid settled on the fairgrounds, and said he was happy with the results.
"We have space we never had before," he said. "The Winston-Salem Entertainment Sports Complex has been very good to work with."
The extra space allowed the festival to expand to 11 rib vendors this year, up from seven last year. It also doubled the amount of merchandise vendors, and expanded the kid's zone with more rides.
When RibFest was held downtown, it drew as many as 25,000 people. "When all is said and done, I think this is going to be approaching that," McDavid said of 2009 attendance.
Thursday was largely a washout because of stormy weather, he said, with "maybe 1,000" attendees. Friday, about 1,600 people came out at lunchtime and another 5,000 turned out for evening events, which included a performance by rapper Vanilla Ice.
McDavid expected the turnout to be about 10,000 on Saturday, which is traditionally the RibFest's busiest day. He wasn't sure about today's turnout since this is the first year the RibFest has carried over into Sunday, now that it is not in a church parking lot.
"Other than the rain on Thursday, it's been pretty good," said Drake Lanier, who has run his Heavenly Heat hot sauce booth at every RibFest to date. It got pretty crowded (Friday) night."
This was Timothy Grandinetti's second year at RibFest running his booth, Dr. Brownstone's BBQ. Grandinetti, the executive chef of the Marriott in downtown Winston-Salem, won the People's Choice award last year.
He has worked at various other rib festivals honing his craft. "We've gone as far north as Michigan and as far south
as Macon, Georgia," he said. "It's hard work but very fulfilling."
One of the first-time booths this year also had local connections: Bib's Downtown, a restaurant on Fifth Street that specializes in smoked meat.
Ricky Seamon, one of the owners of the restaurant and an assistant pitmaster, said that the festival was helping increase awareness of their
restaurant. He said he saw quite a few people eat lunch at the festival and then come to the restaurant downtown for dinner.
They are serving the same rib recipe at the festival that they serve at the restaurant, he said, cooked "low and slow and with a lot of a love."
Joe Jackson, the owner of Smokin Joe's Ribs from Columbus, Ohio, was another first-time rib vendor at RibFest, though he has worked other festivals for the past 15 years. He said he was impressed
with Winston-Salem's RibFest. "The location is fantastic," he said.
Jackson said he was partly motivated to come to RibFest because he has family in Winston-Salem and could use the trip as an excuse to visit the city. He uses a family recipe that is about 65 years old for his rib sauce. He attends about 12 festivals a year.
"It's nice working for yourself," he said. "I'm not trying to get rich, just trying to make a living."
Admission to RibFest is $6, with a $2 discount for people who bring a can of food for the Second Harvest Food Bank. Admission is free for children 12 and under.
For more information, go to www.TwinCityRibFest.com.
■ Tim Clodfelter can be reached at 727-7371 or at
tclodfelter@wsjournal.com
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