Naperville Ribfest permanently canceled after 35 years
NAPERVILLE, Ill. — Naperville’s Ribfest is calling it quits after 35 years.
The Exchange Club of Naperville, the festival’s organizer, made the announcement Tuesday on Facebook. The post said, in part, that the cost of the event post-COVID was just too high, making it hard to generate enough money to be profitable.
Ribfest was a huge factor in how The Exchange Club was able to raise millions of dollars for dozens of non-profits that fight against child abuse and domestic violence.
“They’ve raised so much money for the organizations and donated so much to them,” said Mark Link, the owner of Uncle Bub’s BBQ and Catering. That really hurts because those organizations are going to feel the hit more than anybody else.”
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Link and his team participated in the festival for 17 years. He says he’s going to miss the camaraderie with all the rib vendors the most.
“I do miss being out there serving a great amount of crowds that come out. I’ll miss all that,” he said. “It’s been a great chapter. I am grateful for the chapter we had.”
The club said it is proud of the impact its dedication and service have had on the community.
“There’s a lot that goes into it,” Link said. “They had great entertainment. They have the grounds. There’s so much logistics involved that I can understand that it’s not cheap to run.”
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Read the The Exchange Club of Naperville‘s full statement below:
For the last 35 years, the Exchange Club of Naperville has raised over $22,000,000 for the causes ofprevention of child abuse and domestic violence. We have given to over 75 local agencies including our own Strong Families program, previously known as Project Help. We have made a huge impact for families and children in our community, reaching new levels of fundraising every year. This was in part due to the huge success of Ribfest.
As our lease expired in Naperville, there was not another location in town that we were offered that could hold the event. Covid came and we were not able to host the event for two years. We found a new location in Wheaton at the county fairgrounds but the costs of the event post covid were very high and we were not able to generate enough income to be profitable.
It is with great sadness that we will not be able to continue on with Ribfest in the future.
We can be proud of the years of service we have given to our town and families. Ribfest, The Grand Prix, 3 on 3 basketball tournaments, parades, many service projects, Police and Firefighters of the year, The Crime prevention calendar, Adopt a family at Christmas, the holiday trolley Christmas parties, Ribfest pre-parties and after parties, scholarships for students in all of our schools, the 911 ceremony, give a kid a flag to wave. Our impact will live on in our community because of our years of dedication and service to our community.
Exchange Club of Naperville
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