Ribfest is done: High costs cited as reason for its demise

Ribfest is officially over.

In a brief statement, the Exchange Club of Naperville — organizers of the longtime summer tradition — announced the festival would be no more.

Also on Wednesday, Emy Trotz, a leader of the civic group, confirmed the club itself is disbanding. The organization was formed in 1987, and the first Ribfest was held the following year.

“It's very unfortunate and sad that it had to happen, but … all good things must come to an end, and hopefully in the near future, people may gather together and form a different kind of a club or a different kind of organization and be able to give back to the community like we did,” Trotz said.

For decades, Ribfest reigned over the suburban summer festival season with trophy-winning barbecue, star-studded concerts from the likes of Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler and Hootie & the Blowfish, and the grand finale: a Fourth of July fireworks show over Naperville’s Knoch Park. The Ribfest campus was like a city within a city, relying on an army of volunteers.

But then its lease expired in Naperville, and organizers were left looking for a new location. COVID then quickly dealt the festival another blow, forcing a two-year break.

Organizers brought back a scaled-back version of the festival in 2022 at a new venue — the DuPage County Fairgrounds in Wheaton — over Father’s Day weekend. Last year, organizers changed dates again, hosting a three-day festival in September at the fairgrounds.

In June, Trotz, the club president, said they would not be hosting Ribfest this year and added that she needed to talk to her board before commenting about the future of the event.

“It is with great sadness that we will not be able to continue on with Ribfest in the future,” organizers said in a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday.

The costs of the event post-COVID, organizers wrote, “were very high and we were not able to generate enough income to be profitable.”

“It's really not one reason. It's kind of an amalgam of several reasons,” said Tom Springer, an attorney for the Exchange Club. “COVID certainly doesn't help, didn't help anybody, obviously, and then … just escalating costs.

“They got to a point where the costs of putting on shows, or putting on events, I should say, were greater than the amount they were able to accrue just to cover expenses, much less have any leftover for the charitable donations, which was the thrust of the of the entities,” he said.

There are actually two separate entities, one essentially a charitable arm and the other the operational arm, Springer said.

In the last 35 years, the Exchange Club of Naperville has raised more than $22 million — largely due to Ribfest’s success — for the prevention of child abuse and domestic violence. The club has given to over 75 local agencies.

“We can be proud of the years of service we have given to our town and families,” the statement read. “Our impact will live on in our community because of our years of dedication and service to the community.”

Trotz thanked their charitable partners, volunteers and vendors — everyone who took part in Ribfest. She confirmed Wednesday that the club also is dissolving. It has 32 members.

The Exchange Club has a charter with a national organization, which might be able to be transferred or sold to any other club that would like to buy into it, Springer said.

“It was a great group,” he said, “and everybody's sorry to see it go.”