File photo. (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By Aaron Schulze

Ribfest Is Back

Kamloops Sports Council to take over organization of Ribfest

Feb 12, 2026 | 7:20 AM

KAMLOOPS — Another non-profit organization will carry the tongs and organize Ribfest in Kamloops in 2026 and beyond.

The Kamloops Sports Council has announced plans to partner with local sports organizations and clubs to host the annual summer staple, which will be held August 7 to 9 at Riverside Park.

Executive Director Duncan Olthuis says they’re excited to pick up the mantle after the Rotary Club of Kamloops Daybreak announced last year that it was taking a step back after 13 years at the helm.

“Way back in 2015 and 2017 we helped with the admin portion of Ribfest and we’re excited to take on a much larger role with this event and come back to it and continue the great event that Daybreak Rotary started,” Olthuis told CFJC Today.

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Events Coordinator – and Ribfest Chair – Lucas Sweet also told CFJC there are no plans to make major changes to this year’s event. It will feature staples like the large beverage garden, five ribbers, live entertainment and the free family fun zone.

“Our goal for this year is that everyone attending doesn’t know that there’s a change at the helm, and that it feels like every other Ribfest – a fun, exciting event with lots of good tasting ribs and good music,” Sweet said.

“We’ll address growth in the future as the community changes and the demand changes.”

Since its inception in 2012, organizers say Ribfest has raised more than $850,000 for a number of different Kamloops and area charities. The Kamloops Sports Council says funds raised from future editions will be reinvested into local sports organizations and programs, including KidSport Kamloops.

“The impact of Kamloops Daybreak Rotary’s work through Ribfest is nothing short of extraordinary,” Jan Antons, the president of the Kamloops Sports Council president said in a news release. “We are privileged to carry this torch forward and look forward to honouring this legacy by turning a beloved community staple into lasting opportunities for our local sport organizations.”

In August last year, longtime festival spokesperson Bryce Herman said there would be future editions of Ribfest as the Rotary Club was close to finding a new organizer, though he said he wasn’t  in a position to make any announcements.

“It’s very close to being done,” Herman said at the time. “We want Ribfest to continue. It’s just that the Rotary Club reached a point where [members are] exhausted and they want to move on but we want to leave the legacy of Ribfest to another organization that can do great work and continue it on.”

– With files from Victor Kaisar and Curtis Goodrum/CFJC Today