Rotary Club’s annual Ribfest to benefit Ukraine relief

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on August 19, 2022.

Herald file photo Katie LeBlanc and Melissa Kocis work the grill at last year's Lethbridge Rotary Ribfest.

The Rotary Club of Lethbridge is presenting Ribfest this Friday from August 19 – 21 starting at 11 a.m. daily at the Enmax Centre, looking to raise funds for those affected by the crisis in Ukraine.

The Rotary Club will assist Ukrainian refugees dealing with conflict overseas coming here to Lethbridge, along with sending funding and medical supplies to the Ukrainian people fleeing turmoil in their homeland. Since 1918 the club has served the community by supporting many projects here and around the world for over 104 years, with notable projects like the Rotary Fountain in Galt Gardens and Rotary Square at Casa.

“Ribfest is a fundraiser for the Rotary Club, this will be our 4th annual fest. Our first one was at a walk-up event at Henderson Lake. Then COVID struck and we switched to two drive-thru events at the ENMAX Centre in the last years, but now we’re back to another walk-up event. We’re doing the event with four rib setups that travel across the country in Western Canada to raise some money,” said Nick Nicolacopoulos, Ribfest chairman. “We have four large rib operations serving their ribs, chicken, pulled pork, and brisket. We’ll also have local vendors serving their food trucks, too, on Saturday and Sunday. We’ve also got local bands playing Friday and Saturday evening from 5 to 8. It will be a great time for everybody.”

The Club is also incorporating a drive-thru component for those who enjoyed previous years’ format, hoping to still serve up great food to all and raise funds.

Ribfest offers the Club a unique community opportunity to raise fundraising for the club and support its projects.

“Our fundraising has made the Rotary Club one of the top charities in the world. Because, I believe, administratively we only spend two per cent on the administrative side of things, with 90 per cent of our money going to the charity it was intended for. The Rotary is very effective and made up of a group of citizens who join the club locally and go to do good things in the world. The money we raise is for local charities, local projects, as well as international projects too,” said Nicolacopoulos. “We have 11 Ukrainian families that we’ve brought as refugees into Lethbridge and we’re supporting them in conjunction with Lethbridge Family Services. We’ve collected furniture, clothing, and just trying to make their transition into Canada as easy as possible. That’s the major focus right now is helping Ukraine.”

Attendants can come down to the Enmax Centre and enjoy great food while helping a worthy cause, knowing their contributions help those in need thanks to the Rotary Club. “Come on down and enjoy some ribs, with some great music. Enjoy the camaraderie of all our other folks in this city. It’ll be nice to be able to get together and see people again now that we are back in person. It’s going to be a big event in a festival type atmosphere,” said Nicolacopoulos.