The Biggest Festival in Mississauga Happens this Weekend
Published July 13, 2016 at 6:30 pm
Are you pumped about the 13th annual Amacon Rotary Ribfest? You should be, because succulent ribs will soon abound at Celebration Square.
So, we hope your body is ready.
This year’s festival, which will run from July 14-17, will take place at Celebration Square (as usual). For the first time ever, however, visitors will be charged a small admission fee.
Back in March, festival organizers made some waves when they announced that guests will be charged a $2 admission fee on Friday and Saturday (families can pay a flat $5). The fees were introduced to raise money for local charities.
“Rotary Ribfest is pleased that the partnership we have with the City of Mississauga has created an opportunity for our event to approach fundraising in a creative way,” wrote 2016 Ribfest chairwoman Lucie Shaw in an email. “This year as part of a two-year pilot we will charge an admission of $2 a person or $5 per family on Friday and Saturday. This admission will be returned to our community, directly supporting Rotary’s local partners and charities.”
When the fee was first announced, there was some concern that Amacon — the real estate development and construction firm that often acts as the event’s title sponsor — wouldn’t support the event. Those fears turned out to be unfounded, as the company is indeed sponsoring this year’s meat-heavy party.
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As for the charitable and community organizations that will benefit from the new fee structure, the organizations include the Trillium Health Partners Foundation, the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children, Wellspring Cancer Support Foundation, Mississauga Food Bank and more.
Although few people take kindly to the notion of paying more for something, it’s not terribly surprising that the Rotary Club of Mississauga — which is part of an international contingent of service club organizations — has implemented admission charges to better support charitable causes. You can take a look at the causes the club supports here.
In terms of food, guests can check out a number of accomplished “ribbers”, including Gator BBQ, Bibb’s Texas BBQ, Sticky Fingers BBQ and Company and more. As for entertainment, attendees can check out Infrared, the Marc Joseph Band, Rolling Stronz and more. This year’s festival also boasts some great spinning talent, with DJ D Smooth, DJ Holdershaw, DJ DVS and DJ Floz taking the stage throughout the festival.
Also, insauga.com’s very own Khaled Iwamura will be hitting the stage on Thursday beginning at 5:30 pm and hosting the website’s signature show with co-host Jackie Perez at 6:30 pm.
You can take a look at the entertainment breakdown here.
If you want more information about what to expect (such as whether or not pets are permitted or credit/debit cards accepted — the answer is “no” to both), check out this helpful FAQ.
For all other info, check out the website.
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