Bowmanville Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest

Bowmanville Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest …

by Festival Nomad, Gary McWilliams

Sometimes arriving early does pay off! We arrived at the Bowmanville Rotary Ribfest with no traffic challenges!

This was an unusual occurrence for us.  Bowmanville is the largest community in the Municipality of Clarington, Durham Region, part of the greater Toronto area. (GTA). For us, this day was a short journey down the highway, from our home-base in Cobourg.  We were excited to be re-acquainted with the Bowmanville Ribfest organizer, Kevin Anyan

The Bowmanville Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest website tells us … “this event is a family event – there is something for everyone – yummy food, great music, midway rides, kid’s activities, vendors with items for sale, community groups displaying their organizations activities and offerings, mouth watering ribs and cool licensed beverages.

As an added bonus, parking is FREE and admission is by voluntary donation.  Proceeds from your donations will go to support children with special needs in our community and support the Clarington Older Adults Centre!!!

Ribfest just keeps on getting better and this year we are bigger than ever! This is the one summer event you cannot miss! So, bring mom, dad, the kids, grandma, grandpa, aunts, uncles, cousins, the neighbours, and anyone else you know who enjoys a great time!  We do have lots of tables for you to dine on but when it’s a full house you may want to bring along a lawn chair or picnic blanket so you have somewhere to park yourself.”

Parking at this time of day was fine and we made our way through the huge gates into the Midway area.

We were greeted by eager volunteers for the Bowmanville Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest where donations were welcome. It was fun to place money into the “plastic pig”.

I’m sure many of you have been to Ribfests in your own communities. Yummy, fun, relaxing, entertaining family fun! Bowmanville Ribfest was a nice “refreshing” change.

The layout of their facility and grounds were well thought out. A large carnival midway ride area lay to one area and a pathway led you through a park where you could enjoy seeing the vendors and community booths.

The music band shell was far enough away to not overbear visitors; yet, you could “feel the beat”! Shaded covering offered visitors a cool, dry place to enjoy their “ribs”.

The “Ribbers” were strategically located in a tidy row so visitors could “get a lay of the land”. I always wonder if the longest line-up truly has the best ribs? Or, is it just “familiar” … or, is it “follow the leader”?

Whatever the reason for the line-ups, by arriving early there were not too many long waits. We enjoyed our pulled pork and ribs while we listened to the band on stage.

The smell of the smoke filled the air as ribs cooked on the fires for guest later in the day. Wash up stations and restrooms were plentiful too, so no worries. Of course, the Bowmanville Rotary Ribfest helps benefit a great cause and supports the local community.

If you have some adventure in you and want to experience a different Rifest, we recommend trying a new community. The Bowmanville Rockin’ Rotary Ribfest is a great place to start!