Four-day Leamington Ribfest a blazing success

By Greg Coulter

Transferring from Seacliff Park to the Leamington Fairgrounds did not hinder the crowds for the 2022 Leamington Ribfest.

The four-day festival featured many local musical acts, a variety of local vendors, a car show and of course, mouth-watering ribs.

Chris Glassford of Summit Shows Canada was more than pleased with the local support.

“Here, we can hold all the events on one ground level, there is lots of parking and Dan Wiper of the Fair Board has been great to work with,” said Glassford. “We have enjoyed the generous support of local business sponsors and are thankful to vendors who have set up at the site.”

He also commended community activist Mike Diab, who organized 10 celebrity judges, who came up with winners in several categories.

The Ribfest celebrity judging panel, from left, included Jonathan Obeid, Cornelius Wall, Jen Dawson, Trevor Jones MPP, Sam Valo, Patricia Pedreira, Liz Campbell, Rosie Salive, Anthony Jraige and Aggie Anne Toole.

Entries were submitted by four professional ribbers, including Route 55, Jack The Ribber, Go Gonzalez and Brickyard BBQ. They were judged for best ribs, chicken and sauce.

Jen Dawson, who is the past president of the Leamington District Chamber of Commerce and current board member of Erie Shores Health- Care, didn’t hesitate to become a judge.

“When Mike Diab asks you to be part of something, it’s always a fun time while doing something great for the community,” said Jen. “It’s always rewarding to participate with him and Deanna in community events.”

Jen’s personal favourite was from the Brickyard, although all four were really good.

“The best ribs I’ve ever eaten were in Nashville and Memphis,” she said. “I would rate all four of these up there with my memorable foodie experiences.”

Don and Joyce Wigle were “here for the ribs!’” They picked up two orders from different vendors. When asked to compare, Don smiled and said “They’re both pretty darn good.”

When the dust settled, the celebrity judges’ choice award went to Brickyard BBQ for both ribs and chicken.

Top sauce was awarded to Jack the Ribber.

As for the people’s choice, top ribs were from Gonzalez, chicken from the Brickyard and top sauce from Route 55.

Young Jameson Valo looks to be enjoying the ribs he is tasting as his grandpa Sam Valo gets a chuckle. Sam was one of the celebrauty judges at the Leamington Ribfest on the weekend.