Ribfest is done: High costs cited as reason for its demise

Ribfest officially is over.

In a brief statement on Facebook, the Exchange Club of Naperville – organizers of the longtime summer tradition – announced the festival would be no more.

“It is with great sadness that we will not be able to continue on with Ribfest in the future,” organizers said in the statement posted July 31.

For decades, Ribfest reigned over the suburban summer festival season with trophy-winning barbecue, star-studded concerts from Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and Hootie & the Blowfish, thousands of volunteers and the grand finale: a Fourth of July fireworks show over Naperville’s Knoch Park.

Then its lease expired in Naperville and organizers were left looking for a new location. The pandemic dealt the festival another blow, forcing a two-year break.

Organizers brought a scaled-back version of the festival back in 2022 at a new venue, the DuPage County Fairgrounds, over Father’s Day weekend. Last year, organizers changed dates again, hosting a three-day festival in September at the fairgrounds.

In June, Exchange Club President Emy Trotz said they would not be hosting Ribfest this year, but said she needed to talk to her board before commenting about the future of the event.

In their statement July 31, organizers said the cost of the event post-COVID “were very high and we were not able to generate enough income to be profitable.”

In the past 35 years, the Exchange Club of Naperville has raised more than $22 million – largely because of Ribfest’s success – to benefit more than 75 local agencies in the fight against child abuse and domestic violence.

“We can be proud of the years of service we have given to our town and families,” the statement read. “Our impact will live on in our community because of our years of dedication and service to the community.”

• Daily Herald senior writer Katlyn Smith contributed to this report.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20240731/news/ribfest-is-done-high-costs-cited-as-reason-for-its-demise/