Music and BBQ Festival to Raise Funds for Food Foundations

By Matt Bodie CONTRIBUTOR

On October 19-22, 2023, Rock N Ribs Music and BBQ Festival will return to Coligny Plaza for its second year celebrating music, BBQ, and the people who make both. This year’s festival will benefit Second Helpings and The Carl Ruiz Foundation, two food-focused charity organizations that closely match Rock N Rib’s culinary roots. Second Helpings is a food rescue and distribution network striving to eliminate hunger and food waste in the South Carolina Lowcountry. The organization collects and distributes food that would have otherwise ended up in landfills, and provides it, free of charge, to more than 50 food pantries, soup kitchens, and family and senior programs in Beaufort, Jasper, and Hampton counties. In 2022 alone, they rescued and distributed 3.2 million pounds of food. This October, they expect to surpass 50 million pounds of food rescued and distributed to neighbors who need it. Recent statistics show that about 40% of food produced, processed, and transported in the U.S. is wasted and ends up in our landfills (119 billion pounds annually). At the same time, one in nine people, and one in seven children in South Carolina, struggle with hunger. An estimated 60% of South Carolina’s children qualify for free or reduced-price school lunches. In some towns, this number can reach 100%.

The Chef Carl Ruiz Culinary Arts Education Scholarship, established in memory of Chef Carl Ruiz by his family and friends, provides scholarship awards to assist qualified students who are in pursuit of an apprenticeship, certification, or post-secondary education in the area of Culinary Arts through an accredited culinary or hospitality school program. Chef Carl is best known as a favorite and frequent guest on Food Network shows like Guy’s Grocery Games and Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. His larger-than-life personality and practice of living every day to its fullest are represented in the use of “#Ruizing,” which his friends and family proudly proclaim when they are living in a way that would make Carl proud. However, Ruiz’s humble beginnings as the son of immigrant parents working his way up through the ranks of the New York culinary scene instilled in him the importance of access to culinary education programs. “With every success that Chef Carl achieved, he was always looking for those around him that he could bring up with him and share the limelight,” says foundation head, Gloria Chabot.

Festival organizer, Lee Lucier, says of the choice of charities, “It was important to us to select beneficiaries that are close to our hearts, as well as ones that affect our local area. We hope that the surrounding community recognizes the importance of this mission and chooses to support Rock N Ribs!”

Rock N Ribs Music and BBQ Festival will take place at Coligny Plaza on October 1922, 2023, and will include multiple events, both ticketed and free, over four days for connoisseurs, as well as, casual fans of food, and music. Events included shopping deals around Coligny, cooking classes, four-course BBQ-inspired dinners created by celebrity chefs, a comedy show, and a Grand Tasting featuring over a dozen world-renowned pitmasters, local musicians Cranford Hollow, and legendary Southern Rock band 38 Special.

Learn more and purchase tickets at https://rocknribshhi.com.