Ribfest May Head To DuPage County Fairgrounds For 2022

ROMEOVILLE, IL — The beloved Ribfest, a staple of summer in Naperville, may be headed to DuPage County Fairgrounds in 2022. The popular event was supposed to be held in Romeoville in 2020 and 2021, but was canceled due to the coronavirus.

Village Administrator Dawn Caldwell said the Village and Ribfest organizers agreed to move forward independently months ago.

"Unfortunately, Ribfest was never able to be held here due to various concerns related to the pandemic," she said.

Caldwell said the Village took the opportunity to expand its own special events, including three fireworks shows for its Independence Day celebration; and is also in the process of further expanding its own concert series, with new announcements coming soon.

On Tuesday, the DuPage County's public works committee discussed a proposal to host the four-day festival at the fairgrounds, expressing support and enthusiasm for the event. Committee members said a detailed application had been submitted, though a carnival vendor and liquor license had not yet been secured.

Festival organizers are hoping to expedite approval, so they can book musical acts, committee members said at the meeting.

The City of Wheaton "[doesn't] have any issues with this," said Tim Harbaugh, Deputy Director of Facilities Management for DuPage County.

Harbaugh added that Wheaton officials "want to make sure the county is on board with this before they issue the gathering permit"

During Tuesday's meeting, committee members expressed concerns about event capacity, potential traffic issues on Manchester Road and the ability to accommodate early voters at the fairgrounds amid the fest. Some 15,000 people are projected to attend each day of Ribfest, putting the event on par with the DuPage County Fair, which brings in roughly 20,000 attendees daily.
Ribfest, which was founded by the Exchange Club of Naperville, had been held in Naperville's Knoch Park for more than 30 years. In 2018, it was announced that Ribest would relocate due to renovations at Knoch Park.

In 2020 and 2021, Romeoville was set to host Ribfest, but the event was canceled amid coronavirus concerns. The Naperville Park District rejected a proposal in August 2021 to hold a two-day Ribfest at Frontier Sports Complex in June 2022, citing concerns that Ribfest would cause the park district to lose revenue by displacing the complex's patrons throughout the event.

Since its inception, Ribfest has raised more than $18 million to help the Exchange Club of Naperville fight domestic violence and child abuse.

Dupage County's public works committee reached an informal consensus Tuesday to direct staff to coordinate with the DuPage County Election Division and to continue moving ahead with the proposal for Ribfest 2022.

Committee member Elizabeth Chaplin said, "I think it's going to be a really great event. I'm looking forward to it."

Patch editor Lisa Farver contributed to this report.

Also on Patch:
Ribfest Canceled Again Due To Coronavirus
Proposal For Ribfest's Return Nixed By Naperville Park District
Ribfest Cancelled For The First Time In 33 Years
Naperville Ribfest To Relocate To Romeoville: Report