Ribfest returns to Orillia
A favourite seasonal food has returned to the Sunshine City.
Orillia's annual Ribfest kicked off on Friday at Tudhope Park. This year 17 trailers featuring four different vendors are available for residents to choose from.
"It's just a real simple day out," said Mark Wilson of Northern Heat Rib Series, the organizer of Ribfest. "This is what I really love about it, and we come to a lot of cities, and I love it when these families come out, and you see kids running around, playing games, getting their face painted, having funnel cakes and eating ribs. It's just a great, simple family thing to do."
Northern Heat Rib Series holds 18 Ribfests throughout southern Ontario. Orillia is their fourth stop of the year, setting up in Orillia on June 9 after last visiting Windsor.
All vendors start with the same ribs but compete for both people's choice awards and judge's choice awards each weekend based on how they prepare their ribs. While they all start the same, how each vendor smokes them, rubs them and finishes them makes all the difference.
"They all put so much love and attention into submitting their judge's ribs, and when we announce them on Sundays, they are nervous," said Wilson. "We've seen people as they hand over their judging ribs; they bless their box to make sure they get that little bit of extra help. It's a serious business to them."
They hope to match last year's turnout, which saw 18,000 people show up.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.