By Jill Sperling

Grills and competition heat up at Ribfest

Aug 5, 2016 | 4:34 PM

KAMLOOPS — The sun was out and the meat was sizzling as the 5th annual Ribfest kicked off at Riverside Park. 

Ribfest Spokesman and Rotarian, Bryce Herman said the three-day event started off strong, with people flocking to the park on their lunch breaks to get their fill of mouth-watering ribs.

“There’s more momentum today than what we’ve seen in the past,” Herman said. “If that’s any indicator look out, Saturday and Sunday should be crazy.”

The event sees six professional ribber teams from across Canada vying for coveted awards. Each team is hoping their unique flavour will set them apart from the rest. 

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Even if you don’t go to Ribfest for the meat there’s plenty of live entertainment and an entire kids section away from the smoke of the grills.

Ribfest is not only a meat-lover’s paradise, but also a major fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Kamloops Daybreak.

All of the funds raised at Riverside Park this weekend will stay in the community. Last year the event raised approximately $90,000 for various initiatives in and around Kamloops.

“We say that it’s not really us that’s raising the money, it’s really the community,” Herman said. “I mean, we do it with the support of about 300 volunteers in our community everyday, so that money really is the people of Kamloops, and all we are is we’re the engine to generate it and at the end of the day we help distribute it out to primarily youth and seniors programs throughout the community, which just means each and every one of us has a much better lifestyle.” 

The Kamloops Therapeutic Riding Association is one of the organizations that have benefited from the Rotary Club in the past.

KTRA volunteer, Carolyn Dymond says events like Ribfest are an example of how the Rotary Club gives back to the community.

“They’ve just done so many things within the community,” She said. “I mean, that’s what they’re about, they give the money back to the community. So community comes, money goes back to the community, it’s a wonderful exchange and it’s such a fun thing and it brings people from so far, it highlights Kamloops.”