A Plymouth Tradition Returns. Ribs, And A Community That Shows Up

There are some things a community does because it is on the calendar.

And then there are the things a community does because they have become part of who it is.

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In Plymouth, the annual Fall Festival has plenty of the first kind—rides, music, food and all the familiar sights that draw families downtown each September. But tucked among all of that celebration is something a little more personal: a barbecue put on by local veterans, for the community that has supported them for generations.

On Friday, September 11, the Plymouth-Canton Vietnam Veterans will host their 3rd Annual VVA BBQ Rib Dinner, continuing a partnership that has become a Plymouth tradition with E. G. Nick's in downtown Plymouth.

The dinner runs from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the E. G. Nick's Veterans Tent behind the restaurant.

And if you ask anyone who attended last year's dinner, the ribs are reason enough to come.

The $20 dinner includes BBQ spare ribs, mac and cheese, coleslaw, a roll and butter, and a cookie for dessert. Presale tickets are $17 through September 8 and are available at the Plymouth VFW Post, 1426 S. Mill Street. Tickets will also be available for $20 at the Veterans Tent during the event.

But the meal is really only part of the story.

The larger point is that the proceeds go directly to the local Plymouth-Canton Vietnam Veterans Chapter, making this one of those community events where enjoying a good dinner also means doing something good for the people who have spent years serving others.

And there will be plenty of opportunity to stick around.

The barbecue takes place before live entertainment begins at the E. G. Nick's Veterans Tent, featuring some of Metro Detroit's best rock-and-roll bands. Guests can come for dinner and stay for the music, or head out afterward to enjoy the rides, attractions and other festivities that make the Plymouth Fall Festival one of the area's favorite traditions.

There is no shortage of choices that Friday evening.

But there is something special about sitting down to a plate of ribs prepared for a community by its veterans, knowing that the money spent on that meal will help those same veterans.

That kind of thing doesn't happen by accident.

It happens because people decide that their neighbors matter.

Frank Agostini and Tony Belli, the owners of E. G. Nick's, have been longtime supporters of local veterans, finding ways to bring people together while creating opportunities to give back. Their partnership with the Plymouth-Canton Vietnam Veterans is another example of how a local business can become woven into the fabric of the community it serves.

So when the Fall Festival arrives September 11-13, there will be rides to ride, music to hear and plenty of festival food to eat.

But on Friday afternoon, before the bands take the stage, there will be a tent behind E. G. Nick's where a plate of ribs means a little more.

Come hungry.

Stay for the music.

And, most importantly, come support the veterans who have given so much to the community they call home.