Popular suburban Ribfest is being cancelled; organizers cite high costs

Ribfest is officially over. In a brief statement, the Exchange Club of Naperville — which organized the longtime summer tradition — announced the festival would be no more.

Also on Wednesday, Emy Trotz, a leader of the civic group, confirmed the club itself was disbanding. The organization was formed in 1987, and the first Ribfest was held the following year.

For decades, Ribfest reigned over the suburban summer festival season with trophy-winning barbecue, star-studded concerts from the likes of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and Hootie & the Blowfish, and the grand finale: a Fourth of July fireworks show over Naperville’s Knoch Park. The Ribfest campus was like a city within a city, relying on an army of volunteers.

But then its lease expired in Naperville, and organizers were left looking for a new location. COVID then quickly dealt the festival another blow, forcing a two-year break. Organizers brought back a scaled-back version of the festival in 2022 at a new venue — the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton — over Father’s Day weekend. Last year, organizers changed dates again, hosting a three-day festival in September at the fairgrounds.

“It is with great sadness that we will not be able to continue on with Ribfest in the future,” organizers said in a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday.