A mainstay for the Kamloops summer months appears to be going away.

The Daybreak Rotary has confirmed this year is going to be the last Ribfest that it puts on.

“Announcements like this are never easy, especially concerning a community event so beloved by so many people, but it’s time,” shared Terry-Lynn Stone, Chair of the Daybreak Rotary Ribfest Management Committee. “It’s bittersweet to host our thirteenth and final Ribfest this year, but we as a club look with anticipation for other opportunities to make a difference in the community.”

Rotary Ribfest leader Danica Wilkinson says organizers decided to focus attention elsewhere.

“We took a vote as a Rotary Club, and we want to listen to our members and listen to where Rotarians are at, and the vote came back that we want to try something new,” said Wilkinson.

As to why the group voted that way?

“Hard to say,” said Wilkinson. “It could be a number of different reasons, but at the end of the day, we had a really good, really good meeting [Friday] morning, and a lot of people had really good memories and things they wanted to share and take away from Rib Fest and put into another event.”

In terms of what that new event might look like, Wilkinson says it is too early to say.

“In February, we’re going to start meeting to figure that out,” she conceded.  “That’s the nice thing about our club, is that we’re all planners, we’re all business minded community people… so we’ve got eight months here in order to start to plan and make sure that we are fundraising money to give back to all the local community groups that we’re used to donating to.”

“Right now, we don’t have any concrete ideas.”

Wilkinson says they are not married to the idea of a summer event.

She says they want to keep their options open as they explore potential options.

Volunteer time was also a factor, as Ribfest requires a significant amount of planning, which began for the group not long after the previous event had wrapped up in the summer.

Vernon’s version of the event was scuttled last year due to poor attendance there, though this was not the concern in Kamloops.

Last year’s event drew in around 80,000 people into Riverside Park over the course of three days.

The Daybreak Rotary estimates the event injected some $5 million dollars into the local economy.

“I certainly hope that it’s not the end, or something will replace it which is comparable,” said Howie Reimer, Executive Director of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association, which represents businesses downtown. “I think we need more destination events in Kamloops than fewer.”

Ribfest organizers do say they would be willing to entertain sharing some of their assets if another group were interested in taking it on.

Held for three days in August, Ribfest has drawn “ribbers” from different parts of the country, who take part in a series of events during the summer in different parts of Western Canada as part of ‘competitions.’

The organizers switched the event’s licensing two years ago to allow for people to purchase alcohol and walk around within a fenced-off area in Riverside Park.

“For me, I would say I’m most proud of the approximately $850,000 we’ve raised as a club and donated back to community charities through Ribfest,” said Wilkinson.  “This event has made a big impact, and I’m proud of our club for leading the way.”

Wilkinson said if another group or organization wanted to take over the event, they would be happy to have that conversation.

–With files from Jeff Andreas