Esquimalt Ribfest is providing $65,000 for the fund for a turf field at Esquimalt High School today, as organizers on the event’s committee prepare for the next edition of the festival in September.
The festival’s committee chair Tom Woods described the annual event as an opportunity for community members to enjoy community, ribs and local beverages while giving back.
“Every year we have about 40 charities that we’re able to donate to, various causes,” he said, adding that more than $70,000 gets donated by community members through the event.
Helping with the turf field fund is important to Woods, who said he grew up in Esquimalt and knows first-hand how disappointing it can be when the grassy fields in the area need to remain closed during the rainy months in order to protect them.
“That really bothers me on the weekends when kids should be out there being active and they can’t be.”
Organizers are already working to get set for the next Ribfest, which is scheduled for Sept. 4, 5, and 6 of 2025, with 20 bands already signed up to bring the music for attendees.
Woods said the committee who makes this event a reality is completely made up of volunteers, who have come to all know their role and have fun in the process after working together for years.
“Actually, we only pay one guy and that’s our guy that helps us out with the kegs of beer because he works so hard,” Woods added.
Woods spoke on CFAX 1070 with Al Ferraby this morning (Feb. 27):