PHOTOS ABOVE BY JANIS WARREN
If you happened to find yourself at Rocky Point Park on the weekend, gleefully sinking your teeth into tender, smokey ribs and washing it down with some refreshing local brew, you were far from alone.
In fact, organizers estimate more than 45,000 people streamed into the PoMo park over the weekend for the second annual Port Moody RibFest.
"It was good, it was definitely a great follow-up to the first one," said an exhausted Alan Schmelzel of the Rotary Club of Port Moody.
The fun kicked off on Friday as the five RibFest competitors — Gator BBQ, Boss Hog's, Smoke & Bones, Prairie Smoke & Spice and Misty Mountain BBQ — tended their coals and brought out the best in their barbecued pork and beef ribs, pulled pork sandwiches and chicken.
Live entertainment throughout the weekend kept thousands of RibFesters in festive spirits — possibly assisted by the more than 100 kegs of beer supplied by PoMo's local craft breweries.
"The music was excellent," said Schmelzel. "Both Saturday and Sunday nights, the bands were supposed to stop at 8:30 p.m. but both times the bands were enjoying themselves so much they ended up playing until 9."
Meanwhile, a group of dedicated volunteers stood sentry at the garbage and recycling bins, meticulously sorting compostables and diverting them to green bins.
"We composted almost everything that could be compostable," Schmelzel said. "We had people sorting all the garbage before it got into the garbage cans, and we did a really good job of making sure the garbage was at a minimum."
Line-ups were also down this year and kept to under an hour, Schmelzel said, with a better flow to the site and extra cashiers at the rib stands.
Even the weather co-operated, with dry, warm conditions throughout the weekend — a cause for celebration after the chilly rain earlier this month.
Also celebrating are the RibFest winners, not the least of whom is the 50/50 winner Brian Wormald, who went home with an extra $10,126 in his pocket.
Winners in the best ribs battle as follows:
• Celebrity judges for best ribs: Prairie Smoke & Spice;
• People's Choice (text voting): Boss Hog's;
• Best Sauce: Misty Mountain BBQ.
Schmelzel said organizers are still tallying up the receipts and expect to know their fundraising total next week.
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