BY HARNOOR GILL
Grade 11 student
Christ The King Catholic Secondary
Georgetown, Ontario
AS a newbie to the Ribfest festivities, I was excited to attend this province-wide event for the first time in my life. The purpose of Ribfest is to not only eat ribs from your favourite ribbers but also to serve as a weekend event that is family oriented. It’s designed for families to explore the different organizations that make a community better and enjoy the thrill of music from live bands too. So in order to fulfill the goal of attending Ribfest, I decided to go to the one in Oakville, which ran June 26 through June 28.
Being an avid volunteer, I wanted to become a part of this event somehow and help in any way possible and the perfect opportunity came about. It turned out that Halton Crime Stoppers was hosting a booth during the event so I decided to volunteer with them while enjoying the venue held at the Trafalgar Campus of Sheridan College.
Having volunteered before with Halton Crime Stoppers at community events, I was familiar with the way things were to be run. As members of the community approached the booth, I would help to reiterate the purpose of Crime Stoppers and the importance of solving as well as reducing any form of crime. It was interesting to speak to people interested in learning more about how Crime Stoppers operates and I would explain that everything is kept anonymous.
Knowing that this was a family event, the booth offered items for kids marked with the Crime Stoppers logo such as pencils, stickers, balloons, colouring books and even magnets. There was always the importance of letting people who visited the booth know that Crime Stoppers is separate from the police.
In terms of the event, I enjoyed volunteering and I also had a fabulous time listening to the bands that came out to perform on stage. However, I also loved the food that was offered at this amazing venue designed to bring the community of Oakville together for the weekend. I wasn’t too hungry at the time so I opted for a pulled pork sandwich instead of ribs. The lines were quite long and this was understandable as the weather stations predicted rain for Saturday and Sunday, which left Friday as the ideal day for attending the Oakville Ribfest. I didn’t mind as the ribbers put on quite a show when they were cooking the food for the customers. In fact, I went to Jack the Ribber and it was fun to watch the enthusiasm and expression the cooks would put into the food.
Overall, I had a terrific experience at my very first Ribfest and it was unique as I was able to volunteer with the Halton Crime Stoppers at the same time. I enjoyed the food and hopefully my appetite will allow me to enjoy some ribs next year. I definitely recommend this event to anyone and it is a much better experience when you tag along with family or friends.
The Ribfest is also very youth-oriented and I want to thank the Rotary Club of Oakville, Sheridan College and the Co-operators in hosting this amazing event and I will definitely be attending next year.
