The sun shone bright and warm for the first time in days on the first-ever Williams Lake Rib Festival much to the delight of hundreds of attendees.
The Ribfest was held in Boitanio Park from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. featuring three rib vendors grilling five different flavours of ribs, a dozen-odd vendors set up in the Rib Town Plaza, a children’s carnival and hours of musical entertainment scheduled for the crowds. All of this was made possible by the efforts of organizer Daniel Penny and the Sugar Cane Development Corporation, in concert with the Williams Lake Indian Band.
Penny said that they had a good turnout, meeting and then exceeding their planned capacity of 600, which was exciting for him and the other volunteers. The event was put together by Penny and other members of the SCDC as a way to bring everyone together and show off their hobbies, businesses and interests, all while promoting economic development within Williams Lake.
Read More: Join the WLIB for some finger-licking fun at their new Ribfest
“I think the longterm goal for this event is to do a two and half-day festival and get some of the ribbers you might see at the Kamloops Ribfest. We’re just going to get bigger and bigger and see what we can do with it,” Penny said.
While three and a half months ago he and other members of the SCDC were hesitant to put on this event, Penny said the support they’ve seen within the last week has been a real “tipping point” that shows Williams Lake has an appetite for events like the Ribfest. The more you promote your own community by attending events like these, Penny said, makes the lakecity a better place to live for everybody.
WLIB Chief Willie Sellars was also extremely pleased by the turnout and confirmed the event sold out to the point they had to, unfortunately, turn some people away. Overall he felt it was a great event on a beautiful day for the community to enjoy.
Around $13,000 from various sponsors will be donated to Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Williams Lake and the Williams Lake Youth Soccer Association.
patrick.davies@wltribune.com
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