Kamloops Ribfest extinguished again, but Okanagan event still on table
The annual Kamloops Ribfest will be postponed for another year, but not all hope is lost for hungry carnivores, if you're willing to go for a drive.
The plans are still being drawn, but Penticton and Chilliwack Ribfests are planning 2021 drive-thru events, Danica Wilkinson, chair of the B.C. Ribfest Committee, said.
Penticton is expected to offer ribs from four 'ribbers' with drive-thru service sometime in mid-September, as long as a location and safe procedures are decided upon. Kelowna's Ribfest organizers have not yet made a decision.
The Chilliwack Ribfest is scheduled for the Father's Day weekend, Wilkinson said. Father's Day is on June 20.
Unfortunately for those in Kamloops hoping the event would return after a year-long hiatus, Bryce Henderson, spokesperson for the Kamloops Ribfest, said it simply was not feasible this year.
"We were working on a (drive-thru) plan to keep some kind of ribfest alive, where there would have been four ribbers. It would have been hard to make money, but it wasn't about money," Henderson said. "It's about the community, but there's too much uncertainty, especially with the new variants."
Henderson said the decision to postpone the event was made this week over a Zoom call, when the organizing committee agreed the best course of action was to aim for a full reopening of Ribfest in 2022.
Traditionally, Henderson said they would see up to 30,000 unique visitors over three days at Riverside Park.
"To be honest, we know people are starving for it, but we need to do it in a smart way," he said.
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