Loyalist City RibFest Set For June

Rib lovers in the Saint John area will have something to look forward to next month.

The Loyalist City RibFest is set to take place in the Port City from June 18 to 20.

Peter Wilkins, chair of the Loyalist City RibFest, said they are feeling good about this year’s event.

“With COVID, things can change on a daily basis so it’s a little dicey planning something like this, but things are coming along,” Wilkins said in an interview.

Restrictions related to COVID-19 mean the event will look different than it traditionally does.

Wilkins said RibFest will be similar to the drive-thru event they held in the city last August.

“We don’t have a tent, we don’t have eating on-site, we don’t have the bands, we don’t have the bar, but we do have ribbers,” said Wilkins.

In fact, Wilkins said the same three ribbers from last year have been confirmed for this year: Crabby’s BBQ Shack, Texas Rangers, and Billy Bones.

The event will also be three days instead of the usual four, which Wilkins said was something the ribbers had asked for last year.

Wilkins said they are still ironing out the final details for this year’s location. Last year, RibFest took place on Port Saint John property between the two cruise ship terminals.

“The port’s busy doing port business, so a lot of their property is busy,” he said. “They’ve been really good to us the last number of years.”

“Our first goal is to be uptown again … that’s likely where it’s going to be.”

The Loyalist City Ribfest will be fundraising for the Saint John Y Service Club just like they do every year.