Naperville Ribfest To Relocate To Romeoville: Report

NAPERVILLE, IL — As Knoch Park preps to host its final Exchange Club Ribfest in 2019, festival organizers have announced that this year's festivities will not only be the last Ribfest for the park, but the last Ribfest for Naperville as well. According to ABC7, Ribfest 2020 will take place in a 35-acre park in Romeoville.

Upcoming improvements on Knoch Park led festival organizers to announce in December that Ribfest 2019 would relocate away from Knoch Park, its location for the past 30 years. At that time, planners were not yet certain whether future Ribfests would be held in Naperville or elsewhere.

Exchange Club President-Elect Ron Amato told ABC that several spots in Naperville were considered as options for Ribfest, but that Romeoville is appealing because it will allow the event size to stay roughly the same.

In a statement, Romeoville Mayor John Noak said, "We are honored that they have chosen Romeoville for this premier summer event."

Romeoville officials will be meeting with Ribfest organizers in the coming weeks to begin further negotiations and planning, a news release said. Ribfest will not replace Romeofest, officials said, which is set to go on as scheduled.

Since Ribfest began at Knoch Park, it has helped raise more than $16 million for victims of abuse throughout the community.

What do you think of Ribfest moving to Romeoville? Let us know in the comments.