Pour some sauce out for a legend. After 30 years, St. Petersburg’s Ribfest is calling it quits.
“As with any great organization, change is inevitable,” event organizer, The Northeast Exchange Club (NEC), wrote. “St. Petersburg has changed over the years and with it the needs of the community… There will be no Ribfest in 2019.”
According to the NEC, Ribfest has raised more than $4.5 million dollars for local charities. We’ll always remember it for the dinosaur rock acts and the not-so dino-sized plates its vendors doled out over the years. The fest — which most recently called Vinoy Park home — made a play to the cool kids once (JET headlined in 2009), but talent buyers mostly leaned hard on classic rock (Dicky Betts, Paul Rodgers, The Doobie Brothers) and country (Charlie Daniels Band) when it came to its headliners.
In all seriousness, it is sad to see a long-running community tradition put to rest, but organizers seem dedicated to serving their community and have even asked fans to “stay tuned for what is next.”
Rest in pork, Ribfest. May your cholesterol fly high forever.
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